The UAB takes part in the II Conference of the Catalan Initiative for the Earth Biogenome Project
The UAB actively participates in the Catalan Initiative for the Earth Biogenome Project, launched by the Biogenome Project - IEC, which positions Catalonia as a European benchmark in biodiversity genomics. On 11 and 12 November the second edition of this conference will take place, in which UAB researchers will have the chance to share the current status of their projects.
From 2023 to 2025, the Catalan Initiatve for the Earth Biogenome Project (CBP) has launched more than 30 projects with the aim of sequencing the genomes of more than 100 species. It has also developed innovative protocols for complex taxonomic groups such as corals, metabolite-rich plants, and marine invertebrates. This collective effort, involving more than 100 researchers and some 30 institutions, contributes to conservation, ecosystem management, and applied research in health and bioindustry.
The CBP conferences held at the Institut d'Estudis Catalans (IEC) provide a forum for debate to consolidate the scientific community and define future challenges in Catalonia. Within this framework, the initiative plans to carry out mass sequencing of priority species and develop new methodologies for organisms that are difficult to treat.
This year, UAB researchers Aurora Ruiz-Herrera, lecturer in the Department of Cell Biology, Physiology, and Immunology; and Cinta Pegueroles, lecturer in the Department of Genetics and Microbiology, participated in the conference. The researchers presented the results of the projects they are working on: the sequencing of the Mediterranean tortoise (Testudo hermanni), led by the UAB under the guidance of Aurora Ruiz-Herrera and now completed; and the sequencing of the snail endemic to the province of Barcelona (Xerocrassa montserratensis), and that of several marine species from the Mediterranean (Arbacia lixula, Symphodus ocellatus, Symphodus tinca, Holothuria mammata, Holothuria tubulosa, and Tylodina rafinesquii). This project is led by Cinta Pegueroles in close collaboration with researchers from the University of Barcelona's Institute for Biodiversity Research (IRBio-UB), the National Museum of Natural Sciences, and the LOEWE Centre for Translational Biodiversity Genomics.
Presentation of the projects worked on by UAB researcher UAB Cinta Pegueroles.
"The Earth Biogenome Project allows us to understand biodiversity from a genomic perspective and apply this knowledge to conservation in a context of climate change", Aurora Ruiz-Herrera highlighted. "The generation of benchmark genomes is a key tool to preserve threatened species and to promote new applications in biotechnology", affirmed Cinta Pegueroles.
Among the most relevant results that the CBP has provided so far, in addition to the genome of the previously mentioned Mediterranean turtle, is the complete genome of the Balearic shearwater (Puffinus mauretanicus), a species in critical danger of extinction.