3 June 2026
Biodiversity Genomics Europe Plus (BGE+) Launches a New Era for Biodiversity Genomics in Europe
Heir to the Biodiversity Genomics Europe project, the new Biodiversity Genomics Europe Plus (BGE+) will harness the power of genomic science and DNA-based reference resources to transform how biodiversity is monitored, protected, and sustainably used across Europe. Building on advances in genomics and the success of previous European collaborations, BGE+ aims to strengthen taxonomic research, improve understanding of species and genetic diversity, and, more importantly, lay the foundations for a long-term European biodiversity genomics system.
The project brings together a distributed network of taxonomists, genomic researchers, and institutions across Europe for an overarching goal: to scale up the production and use of DNA barcode and whole-genome sequence data. Although BGE+ builds on its predecessor, BGE, the project brings some interesting novelties, among them cascade grants for data production, training programmes, an ambitious research and development program, both for laboratory protocols, and advanced informatics solutions, and a conscientious effort to advance the creation of a European Biodiversity Genomics infrastructure that increases the impact of genomic data on policy and decision-making.
BGE+ builds on the established networks of iBOL-Europe, ERGA, and CETAF.
