The Catalan initiative for the Earth BioGenome Project: contributing local data to global biodiversity genomics
Montserrat Corominas, Tomàs Marquès‐Bonet, Miquel A. Arnedo, Mónica Bayés, Jordina Belmonte, Héctor Escrivá, Rosa Fernández, Toni Gabaldón, Teresa Garnatje, Josep Germain, Manel Niell, Ferran Palero, Joan Pons, Pere Puigdomènech, The Catalan initiative for the Earth BioGenome Project, Laura Aguilera, Francisco Cámara, Jèssica Gómez‐Garrido, Fernando Cruz, Ignacio Sánchez-Escudero, Cristian R. Altaba, Rui Alves, Enrique Arboleda, María Capa, Laura Triginer, Vicent Arbona, Conxita Àvila, Laura Baldo, Alba Enguídanos, Andrea Prófumo, Owen S Wangesteen, Margarida Barceló-Serra, Laura R. Botigué, Amparo Monfort, Bernat Burriel‐Carranza, Salvador Carranza, Javier del Campo, Gabriel Mochales‐Riaño, Marc Palmada‐Flores, Héctor Candela, Cristian Cañestro, Carlos Carreras, M. Casanella Doménech, Carles Galià‐Camps, Sara Guirao‐Rico, Jesús Lozano-Fernández, Marta Pascual, Cinta Pegueroles, Alejandro Sánchez‐Gracia, Miguel Á. Carretero, Oriol Grau, Romina Garrido, Xavier Grau‐Bové, Antonio Hermoso, Iana V. Kim, José A. Jurado‐Rivera, Carles Lalueza‐Fox, Jean‐Baptiste Ledoux, Ramiro Logares, Ramón Massana, Francesc Piferrer, Juli Mauri, Francesc Mesquita‐Joanes, Juan S. Monrós, Jaume Pellicer, Josep Peñuelas, Cristina Roquet, Aurora Ruiz‐Herrera, Guifré Torruella, Xavier Turón, Marc Ventura, Vanesa Jiménez Arroyo, Cristian Cuevas-Caballé, Joan Ferrer, Ivo Gut, Marta Gut, Oriane Hidalgo, Guillem Izquierdo-Arànega, Laia Pérez-Sorribes, Emilio Righi, Marta Riutort, Joan Vallès, Julio Rozas, Tyler Alioto, Roderic Guigó
Abstract
Abstract The Catalan Initiative for the Earth BioGenome Project (CBP) is an EBP-affiliated project network aimed at sequencing the genome of the >40 000 eukaryotic species estimated to live in the Catalan-speaking territories (Catalan Linguistic Area, CLA). These territories represent a biodiversity hotspot. While covering less than 1% of Europe, they are home to about one fourth of all known European eukaryotic species. These include a high proportion of endemisms, many of which are threatened. This trend is likely to get worse as the effects of global change are expected to be particularly severe across the Mediterranean Basin, particularly in freshwater ecosystems and mountain areas. Following the EBP model, the CBP is a networked organization that has been able to engage many scientific and non-scientific partners. In the pilot phase, the genomes of 52 species are being sequenced. As a case study in biodiversity conservation, we highlight the genome of the Balearic shearwater Puffinus mauretanicus, sequenced under the CBP umbrella.