10-11-2020
The Biogenoma de Catalunya project promotes four IRBio projects to sequence the genome of eukaryotic species
Barcelona November 9, 2020. The Biogenoma de Catalunya project will promote four projects of the Biodiversity Research Institute (IRBio) in the framework of the call for the Earth BioGenome Project (EBP), which has been promoted through the Institut d'Estudis Catalans (IEC) together with two of its subsidiaries, the Societat Catalana de Biologia (SCB) and the Institució Catalana d'Història Natural (ICHN).
The Earth BioGenome Project is an international projection project to obtain the genome sequence of all eukaryotic species on Earth, a scientific milestone that will be key to reversing or controlling the impact of human activity on the biosphere.
The call will fund a total of eight projects with a maximum budget of € 10,000 each, which can be used for fieldwork, cataloging, genomic sequencing, coupling and annotation.
Funded projects:
The genome of the Catalan blind scorpion
Miquel Arnedo –IRBio
Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences
FACULTY OF BIOLOGY UB
Scorpions are an iconic lineage of arthropods that, due to their venom and characteristic body plan, have fascinated humans since ancient times. The blind scorpion, Belisarius xambeui, is an endemic species of the Catalan Pyrenees and pre-Pyrenees. Due to its uncertain evolutionary relationships, scarce observations in nature, and aberrant morphology, it is considered the rarest scorpion in Europe. Sequencing its genome will not only allow us to better characterize their evolutionary relationships, but will also help us understand the genetic basis of morphological changes and the evolution of venoms, as well as to determine relevant aspects of population dynamics that are essential for its conservation.
Photos: Marc Domenech
Podarcis lilfordi's genome
Laura Baldo - IRBio
Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences
FACULTY OF BIOLOGY UB
Giacomo Tavecchia - CSIC, Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies (IMEDEA)
The Balearic lizard, Podarcis lilfordi, is an endemic and emblematic species of the Balearic Islands. The species comprises a multitude of populations confined to several islets off the coasts of Mallorca, Menorca, and Cabrera. The great diversity in morphology, pigmentation, ecology, and life history traits of these isolated populations makes the species P. lilfordi an excellent genomic model for genetics, demography and natural selection studies. The species is currently listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), making the genome an important tool for its conservation.
Photos: Joan Lluis Riera
The “morruda” (Diplodus puntazzo) genome
Carlos Carreras - IRBio Department of Genetics, Microbiology and Statistics
FACULTY OF BIOLOGY UB
(cast: sargo picudo, eng: sharpsnout seabream)
Morruda is a common demersal fish in the Mediterranean well known to fishermen and divers on our shores. It plays an important role in coastal ecosystems as it feeds on a wide variety of organisms including toxic species such as sponges, echinoderms or coelenterates. Due to its rapid growth, it has emerged as a potential species of interest for the aquaculture sector. In addition, it belongs to the polyphyletic group of sparids, a taxon from which only the genome of a single species (Sparus aurata) has been sequenced so far. Sequencing the genome of the beetle will provide us with a fundamental tool for future studies of this inhabitant of our coasts.
Photo: Enrique Ballesteros
The genome of Pyrenean chamomile (Achillea ptarmica subsp. pyrenaica)
Teresa Garnatje - Botanical Institute of Barcelona (IBB, CSIC-Barcelona City Council)
Joan Vallès - IRBio
Botany Laboratory, Department of Biology, Health and the Environment
FACULTY OF PHARMACY AND FOOD SCIENCES UB
The EtnoBioFiC, research group from the Barcelona Botanical Institute -a joint center of the CSIC and Barcelona City Council- and the University of Barcelona and IRBio, will lead the sequencing of the genome of the mountain chamomile (Achillea ptarmica subsp. pyrenica), an emblematic species of the territory and of great relevance for its medicinal, food and cosmetic uses.
Photo: Joan Vallès
Reserve project:
Genome sequencing of Carpodesmia mediterranea (Sauvageau)
Jordi Rull Lluch - IRBio
Amelia Gómez Garreta - IRBio
Rafael Martín Martín - IRBio
Botany Laboratory, Department of Biology, Health and the Environment
FACULTY OF PHARMACY AND FOOD SCIENCES UB
The genome of Carpodesmia mediterranea (Sauvageau) Orellana & Sansón (= Cystoseira mediterranea Sauvageau), a brown alga (Fucales, Phaeophyceae) widely distributed on the rocky coasts of the Catalan Countries, will be analyzed. This species is of great ecological importance and forms dense populations (meadows) on the surface (0-0.5 m deep) on rocky shores - slightly inclined and moderately beaten - in clean water environments. It is considered a bionic species of seawater quality and is currently protected by the Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea and Biodiversity (Barcelona Convention).
Photo: Jordi Rull