African BioGenome Project explained

The African BioGenome Project, or AfricaBP, is an international effort to sequence the genomes of all animals, all plants, all fungi, and all protists (and so, collectively, all eukaryotes) that are native to Africa^[1] at an estimated cost of $1 billion U.S. dollars.^[2] The project prioritizes doing its sequencing work and data storage within the African continent.^[3]

Background

The project was originally started by a group of scientists including ThankGod Echezona Ebenezer, and has partnered with other major sequencing efforts such as the Vertebrate Genomes Project and the 10,000 Plant Genomes Project.^[4]

Notes and References

1. 100,000 genomes — in Africa, for Africa . Nature Biotechnology . July 2022 . 40 . 7 . 988 . 10.1038/s41587-022-01404-0 . 35831666 .
2. News: Sen . Ananya . African BioGenome Project to sequence 100,000 endemic species Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology . 20 November 2023 . www.igb.illinois.edu . 19 April 2022.
3. News: Fell . Andy . Genomics by Africans for Africans . 20 November 2023 . Egghead . UC Davis . 15 March 2022 . en.
4. Makoni . Munyaradzi . African effort to sequence continent's biodiversity seeks $1 billion over 10 years . ScienceInsider . 15 March 2022 . 10.1126/science.adb2028 . 20 November 2023.