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A new scientific mission with an ambitious goal was announced Thursday: to map the entire genome of all known animals, plants, fungi and protozoa on Earth. The Earth BioGenome Project (EBP), described as the next "gun shot for biology," is a decade-long experiment to map the genomes of about 1.5 million species – all the complex life forms known to man.
The Last Project The Human Genome Project, completed in 2003, lasted 13 years to map the human genetic code.
The $ 4.7 billion EDP aims to create a resource for studying a wide range of animal species. The product of this decade-long study would be a tremendous resource for scientists, offering much potential information, including how environmental changes affect living systems at the genetic level.
"(He) will eventually create a new foundation for biology. solutions to preserve biodiversity and support human societies, "said Harris Lewin, president of the EBP to: new discoveries, understand the rules of life, know how evolution works, new approaches for the conservation of rare and endangered species and … new resources for researchers in agriculture and medicine, "he added.
The Earth BioGenome project aims to map the genomes of all complex life forms, with the exception of bacteria and archaea. Image reproduced with the kind permission of: University of Illinois.
The project will mobilize a workforce from around the world, the largest commitment coming from the British Wellcome Sanger Institute, which plans to map 66,000 species. The same institute has been a driving force in the human genome project.
A team of Chinese researchers aims to sequence 10,000 species of plants, and the Global Ant Genomes Alliance intends to contribute to the production of 200 ants genomes.
This "Project" of international inspiration will fuel "all areas of biology and biotechnology" with its results, said Julia Wilson of the Sanger Institute at BBC . "We are talking about new drugs, new fuels for the future … we are limited for the moment by our imagination – we can not even imagine what that would tell us," she added.
About 3,500 complex life forms, about 0.2% of the total, had their genome sequenced. Of these, less than a hundred are of a quality worthy of being used as "reference" by researchers according to a report of the Sanger Institute.
The volume of data generated by the EBP is expected. to be at a mbadive "exascale" – more than the volumes accumulated by Twitter, YouTube or astronomy.
"The gaps in our knowledge are much larger than we know … so we do not even fill the pieces of the puzzle, the bulk of the puzzle is empty," said Lewin to ] BBC .
The project is also a way to open new avenues for the treatment of infections, anti-aging drugs, and even develop new approaches to cope with food shortages and the development of innovative biomaterials. If this goal is achieved, the EBP will revolutionize the way in which biology and evolution are studied. Its completion would also provide a significant boost to the conservation of wildlife and biodiversity.
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