eDNA^Europe is a nascent initiative exploring the feasibility of establishing a European society focused on environmental DNA (eDNA) and four Missions: 

• Build a European community of eDNA researchers and stakeholders
• Connect the European eDNA community with wider national, regional and global initiatives
• Promote technological advancement and share research findings and best practices
• Facilitate mainstreaming of eDNA methods into policy and practice

By bringing together the core group of the European eDNA Society and representatives of iBOL Europe, the Workshop allowed for discussions about developing the respective communities by aligning intents and objectives and giving time and space to the European eDNA Society core group to discuss governance and strategy of the Society. 

The Workshop was made possible by funds provided by the Biodiversity Genomics Europe project, funded by the European Commission, the UK Research and Innovation Agency and the Swiss Confederation.

Hosted at the NHM, the Taxonomython focused on the identification of  critical specimens from the Wellcome Sanger Institute. World-class taxonomic experts worked on critical specimens from the Wellcome Sanger Institute/UK BIOSCAN dataset. Those specimens either had no matches in the DNA reference database or needed expert verification to confirm their identifications.
The Taxonomython tackled two challenges: identifying specimens with no database matches (potentially new records for the UK) and verifying those “problematic” records where DNA barcodes had matches but needed expert confirmation.
The team of experts examined nearly 500 priority specimens and directly updated taxon resolution and accuracy for approximately 9,000 BIOSCAN records across the UK, encompassing 18 families of Diptera and one family of Hymenoptera.
These verified specimens will now contribute to improved identification accuracy for insects, advancing both fundamental taxonomy and applied biodiversity science.

The Taxonomython was made possible by funds provided by the Biodiversity Genomics Europe project, funded by the European Commission, the UK Research and Innovation Agency and the Swiss Confederation.

Bringing together more than 30 representatives of the European DNA barcoding community, the Workshop allowed us to gather input and feedback to set up strategic priorities for iBOL Europe in the years to come.

The Workshop was part of a community-wide consultation process to develop the priorities for iBOL Europe. Such a process has included informal dialogue through community meetings and via the wider global iBOL Europe network; formal surveys were also undertaken with the representatives of the barcoding community from across Europe. This included online surveys conducted between 2022 and 2024, gathering input on priority functions of iBOL Europe and related issues, such as training and communications.

The process will conclude in late 2025, with the submission of a white paper outlining iBOL Europe’s mission, immediate goals, and strategic priority areas.

The Workshop was made possible by funds provided by the Biodiversity Genomics Europe project, funded by the European Commission, the UK Research and Innovation Agency and the Swiss Confederation.

Funded through the Biodiversity Genomics Europe project (BGE), the event was divided into three workshop blocks, during which experts and taxonomists shared knowledge and expertise on the respective target groups of flies. At the same time, participants identified BGE’s sequenced dipteran material coming from the “Dark Biodiversity Genomics” Task.

The full programme is available here.

Picture by Ivar Leidus, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The Workshop introduced Polish National Parks staff to the latest DNA-based biodiversity assessment techniques. Fifteen representatives from eight national parks attended the workshop.

The workshop program included several lectures and hands-on activities. Over two days, experts from UniLodz (Tomasz Mamos, Grzegorz Tończyk, Aleksandra Jabłońska, Tomasz Rewicz, Gabriela Karlik, Sylwia Holak, Karolina Bącela-Spychalska, Piotr Falczewski and Karolina Biniek) presented the principles and applications of DNA (meta)barcoding, a powerful tool for rapid species identification. Participants learned how to collect and analyse biological samples and use the Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) to share and access biodiversity data. The programme concluded with our experts and workshop attendees discussing the prospects of implementing (meta)barcoding to learn about the biodiversity of protected areas.

The theoretical introduction included contributions by Tomasz Mamos and Michal Grabowski on “The threshold of the third decade of DNA (meta)barcoding: from concept to practice;” by Aleksandra Jablonska on “(meta)Barcoding field studies: before, during and after…;” and by Tomasz Rewicz on “Barcode of Life Datasystems: collecting and sharing barcoding data.”

Tomasz Mamos and Gabriela Karlik led the practical session “DNA barcoding on the Oxford Nanopore Technologies platform,” based on insects collected in the Tatra Mountains in July 2023. A total of 960 individuals were barcoded. As a result, 727 sequences representing 327 Barcode Index Numbers (BINs) were obtained. 

Interestingly, it was possible to identify only 168 sequences at the species level: most of them were Diptera and Hymenoptera, and some had not been reported from the Tatra National Park before. This proves that, despite decades of faunistic studies, the fauna of the High Tatra Mountains is still far from being well documented and requires detailed faunistic and taxonomic studies, including building a proper DNA barcode reference library for the local species.

Participants appreciated the Workshop experience and recognised the importance of molecular techniques in understanding and preserving biodiversity in protected areas.

The Department of Invertebrate Zoology and Hydrobiology of the University of Lodz is the national node of the International Barcode of Life (iBOL) and represents the Polish Barcode of Life (PolBOL) initiative.

The Workshop was organised within the EU Horizon Europe project “BGE: Biodiversity Genomics Europe;” the barcoded insects from the Tatra Mountains were collected within the “High Mountain Sampling” Task of BGE.

The featured image of this blog post is a View from Rysy to Czarny Staw pod Rysami and Morskie Oko by Milan Bališin, published under a CC4.0-CC-BY-SA licence.

The launch of GrBOL is a major achievement reached by the Greek barcoding community within the BGE project, setting the stepping stone for the barcoding of the Greek biodiversity – one of the richest biodiversity systems in Europe.

Greek public officials participated in the launch event, including Petros Valeridis, General Secretary for Natural Environment and Water; Nikolaos Jollas, Deputy Governor of Digital Governance; plus representatives from the municipality of Thessaloniki and the Greek Agency on Climate Change (NECCA).

A number of fellow barcorders also gathered in Thessaloniki and online to celebrate the launch of GrBOL: key contributions came from Paul Hebert, founder and CEO of iBOL; Dimitris Koureas, Managing Director for Digital & Chief Information Officer at Naturalis Biodiversity Centre (NL) and BGE project coordinator; Pete Hollingsworth, Director of Science at RBGE; Camila Mazzoni, ERGA Founding Chair. Torbjorn Ekrem and Axel Hausmann, respectively, shared NorBOL and GBOL experiences and best practices.

The event concluded with a roundtable discussion among notable members of the Greek community. 

Today’s discussions proved that it takes a long time to form an iBOL national node and that there’s still much work to be done to put GrBOL fully into motion.

Please join us in congratulating Prof. Alexandros Triantafyllidis & Team (AUTH) on such an achievement!

When? June 6th from 15.00-16.30h CET

How to join? Webinar details will be emailed directly to the iBOL Europe community mailing list. Not signed up? Join our community through this form to receive your invitation.

Recent advances in DNA sequencing by Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) have yielded a range of efficient and affordable platforms for conducting DNA-barcoding at multiple scales. However, to start working with this innovative technology, researchers need to overcome the initial hurdles of selecting the appropriate platform, protocols, and data analysis pipelines.

Sharing experience and knowledge among our community can make this process easier and more effective. Thus, we have organised a webinar focused on the implementation of DNA-barcoding using nanopore technology. In this webinar, experts from the Natural History Museum in London, the NTNU University Museum and the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin will discuss:

1. The theoretical basis of DNA-barcoding with ONT
2. Laboratory procedures, kits and consumables needed
3. Data analysis and computational requirements

Join us on June 6th to hear useful tips & tricks, and to ask questions about implementing DNA-barcoding with nanopores in your own lab.

Do you have a question for our experts already in mind? You can let us know through our Contact form.

We are looking forward to seeing you at the event!

When? February 26th from 14.30-16.00h CET

How to join? Join our community though this form to receive your invitation

DNA barcode reference libraries underpin effective biodiversity monitoring. Great progress has been made in their development but a number of conceptual and practical challenges remain.

Therefore we organise this online panel discussion where expert panellists from the European and Canadian DNA barcoding communities will discuss these issues and share their insights and experiences on the state-of-the-art for DNA barcode reference libraries. 

Join the discussion on the current state and future of DNA-barcoding reference libraries for European species! Do you have a question for the panel already in mind? You can let us know through our Contact form.

We are looking forward to seeing you at the event!