Expanding Europe’s DNA Barcoding Capacity for Biodiversity - IBOL Europe
DNA barcoding is an essential component of our technological toolkit for effective species discovery, identification, and monitoring in the face of the ongoing biodiversity and climate crises. However, national capacity for its implementation remains limited, and the barcode reference libraries underpinning its use remain incomplete, particularly in Europe’s most biodiverse regions. The Biodiversity Genomics Europe project (BGE, 2023-26) addressed these challenges by supporting new national DNA barcoding nodes, establishing a European hub for DNA barcoding through the International Barcode of Life Europe (iBOL-E), and directly advancing the development of barcode reference libraries.
BGE+ is building on these foundations by supporting iBOL-E to grow and adapt to meet the needs of its partners and other beneficiaries of DNA barcoding across Europe in alignment with the global iBOL mission. In concert with this international focus, BGE+ aims to boost national and regional capacity through a registry of expertise and resources, practitioner events, and a help desk. Furthermore, using the technical knowledge from BGE and the progress made in other BGE+ areas, experts and share resources will be brought together to advance the rollout of low-cost facilities for barcoding using portable DNA sequencers and the production of expertly curated reference libraries to support DNA barcoding where it is most needed in Europe.