Preserving Earth’s genetic future before it’s too late

The genome of life is vanishing faster than we can understand it. Species are going extinct, ecosystems are breaking down, and climate change is making everything more unstable.

At the same time, science is finally catching up with a bold idea: if we can read the DNA of life – every plant, animal, fungus, and more – we can help protect it.

That’s the massive mission behind the Earth BioGenome Project (EBP), a global effort to sequence the DNA of every known eukaryotic species on the planet.

A reference for life itself

In simple terms, eukaryotes are the organisms that have complex cells, like humans, trees, and mushrooms.

There are about 1.67 million named species, and EBP wants to map the genome of each one. That means building a massive, digital DNA library – a reference for life itself.

This isn’t just for the sake of curiosity. Knowing the genetic makeup of different species can help with medicine, food security, environmental protection, and even pandemic prevention.

Powering up the genome project

The EBP started sequencing genomes in 2020. Since then, it’s picked up speed. Today, the project is moving 10 times faster than when it began, thanks to better technology and new tools like portable “pop-up” labs that can work even in remote regions.

“As biodiversity loss gathers pace, so must our work,” said Professor Harris Lewin at Arizona State University. “Our growing digital ‘genome ark’ is shifting what’s possible in genomics from isolated, expensive sequencing efforts to a global, scalable, and inclusive enterprise.”

The project isn’t just about science – it’s also about making sure the work benefits everyone, especially communities in biodiversity-rich but often overlooked areas, like parts of South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia.

That includes giving local and Indigenous researchers the tools they need to do world-class genomic science right where they live.

Building a digital tree of life

By the end of 2024, researchers in the network had published 1,667 genomes, representing over 500 eukaryotic families. Another 1,798 genomes were submitted that meet EBP’s standards. That brings the total to 3,465 species already sequenced and cataloged.

These genomes have helped explain how some animals adapt to extreme environments, like the Svalbard reindeer in the Arctic. They’ve also shown how chromosomes have changed over time in butterflies and moths.

Furthermore, the genomes are helping to improve tools like environmental DNA, or eDNA, which can identify species just from the traces they leave behind in water, soil, or air.

“We have laid the roots to build our digital ‘tree of life’ – and our early outputs are already reshaping what we know about evolution, ecosystem function, and biodiversity,” said Professor Mark Blaxter at the UK’s Wellcome Sanger Institute.

The next big challenge

Now, EBP is entering the second of three phases. Phase II is much more ambitious. The goal is to sequence 150,000 species over the next four years. That’s half of all known genera.

The focus of this phase will be on species that matter most for ecosystems, food, disease prevention, and cultural and community needs.

That also means collecting 300,000 biological samples. To hit these targets, the project will need to sequence 3,000 genomes a month. That’s more than 10 times the current rate. But the tech is getting better – and cheaper. Genome sequencing costs have dropped eightfold in just a few years.

“It’s a biological moonshot in terms of the scale of ambition. As species vanish and ecosystems degrade, we aim to capture and preserve the biological blueprint of life on Earth for future generations,” said Professor Blaxter.

“Understanding the origins and evolution of life on Earth is a human pursuit equivalent to understanding the origins and evolution of the universe.”

Genome labs in a box

One of the biggest challenges is getting high-quality samples from hard-to-reach places. The EBP wants to solve that with a simple idea: genome labs in a box.

These pop-up sequencing labs, called gBoxes, fit inside shipping containers and can go almost anywhere. Once there, they give local scientists the power to process and analyze DNA on site – without having to ship samples around the world.

“Chile is one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots with many endemic species, but these are under threat,” said Professor Juliana Vianna from the 1,000 Genomes Project.

“In addition, our species are often studied only after samples are exported. With gBoxes, we can change that. Local teams can generate the data here, in context, and immediately connect it to the conservation and sustainable management challenges we face on the ground.”

Developing novel solutions

“Biodiversity scientists in low and lower middle-income countries confront daily the great irony of our species and our planet: that the lion’s share of funding and infrastructure for genomics is located at higher latitudes while the great bulk of biodiversity is found in the tropics,” said Dr. Andrew J Crawford from Universidad de los Andes in Colombia.

He noted that the gBox would allow any nation on the globe to make its own choices, empower the next generation of researchers in biotech and computational biology, and impact national economies by asking novel questions and developing creative solutions.

A huge genome project mission

Since it started, EBP has built a strong foundation. It created international standards, set up a network of affiliated projects, and reached many of its Phase I goals. Now it’s aiming even higher.

The price tag for Phase II is $1.1 billion. That includes $0.5 billion for a Foundational Impact Fund to support training, infrastructure, and applied research in the Global South.

Sequencing the full 1.67 million named eukaryotic species over 10 years would cost around $4.42 billion. For perspective, that’s less than what it cost to sequence the first human genome or to build the James Webb Space Telescope.

The scientists behind the project say that’s a fair price for what it could deliver – a complete digital record of Earth’s genetic diversity.

The full study was published in the journal Frontiers in Science.

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