Blog
Dec 8, 2017

Sanger Institute to Sequence 25 Genomes for 25th Anniversary

Shauna Clark

In celebration of their upcoming 25th anniversary, The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute will be collaborating with a number of leaders in the genomics field, including 10x Genomics, on their 25 Genomes Project, an exciting effort to comprehensively sequence 25 new genomes of species found in the UK. The Sanger Institute has chosen 20 species, separated into categories based on shared characteristics: Flourishing, species that are growing in number; Floundering, endangered and threatened species; Dangerous, invasive species; Iconic, species that are easily recognizable as British; and Cryptic, species that look very similar to others. The final 5 species were chosen by school children and members of the public who voted in "I’m a Scientist, Get Me Out of Here."

The complete list of species whose genomes will be sequenced are:

Flourishing species:

  • Grey Squirrel
  • Ringlet Butterfly
  • Roesel’s Bush-Cricket
  • Oxford Ragwort

Floundering species:

  • Red Squirrel
  • Water Vole
  • Turtle Dove
  • Northern February Red Stonefly

Dangerous species:

  • Giant Hogweed
  • Indian Balsam
  • King Scallop, also known as Great Scallop, Coquilles Saint-Jacques
  • New Zealand Flatworm

Iconic species:

  • Golden Eagle
  • Blackberry
  • European Robin
  • Red Mason Bee

Cryptic species:

  • Brown trout
  • Common Pipistrelle Bat
  • Carrington’s Featherwort
  • Summer truffle

Five species chosen by the public:

  • Common Starfish
  • Fen Raft Spider
  • Lesser Spotted Catshark
  • Asian Hornet
  • Eurasian Otter

Over the past 25 years, the Sanger Institute has dedicated itself to furthering the study and understanding of genomics, and with the 25 Genome Project, they hope to uncover genetic information that will both provide insight into the chosen species and fuel future studies that investigate biodiversity in the UK. The project has the potential to reveal significant information about each of the species, explaining questions such as why Grey Squirrels flourish in the UK while Red Squirrels flounder. Additionally, as the results will be made public, scientists all over the world will be given easy access to high-quality genomes that could aid in future studies.

Read the full article on the Sanger Institute website.

Read more about using 10x Linked-Reads for genome assembly: