
iBOL’s vision:
to illuminate biodiversity by developing globally accessible, DNA-based systems for the discovery and identification of all multicellular life.
This work has urgency if we are to effectively address biodiversity loss on our planet.
After successful completion of BARCODE 500K in 2015, the iBOL Consortium began planning its next research program – BIOSCAN – officially launched on June 16, 2019.
Estimated to cost $180 million, BIOSCAN will revolutionize our understanding of biodiversity and our capacity to manage it.
BIOSCAN involves more than a 1000 researchers from 40 countries.
BIOSCAN’s three research themes employ DNA barcodes to speed species discovery, to probe species interactions, and to track species dynamics
Species Discovery
Our planet is an island of life in the cosmos. DNA barcoding has been aiding species discovery for 15 years, but millions of species await analysis.
BIOSCAN uses new protocols and sequencing platforms to increase the pace of analysis while decreasing cost. Ten million specimens from freshwater, marine, and terrestrial ecosystems will be analysed.
Generate barcode coverage for 2M species

Species Interactions
No organism is an island; it is a complex ecosystem. Species interactions are central to the functioning of biological systems, but most remain unknown.
BIOSCAN is using taxonomically targeted primer sets on the DNA extract from single specimens to reveal their commensals, mutualists, parasites and parasitoids – the
Reveal species interactions by targeting the symbiome

Species Dynamics
Biodiversity is in retreat, and current monitoring programs provide sparse insights into the shifting distributions and abundances of species.
BIOSCAN is employing metabarcoding to lay the foundation for an earth observation system. By examining biological communities from at least half the world’s ecoregions, BIOSCAN begins the task of compiling comprehensive biodiversity baselines.
Scan biological communities at 2,000 sites

BIOSCAN Funding & News

Meet Arctic BIOSCAN’s 2022 Field Technicians
This year’s Arctic BIOSCAN biodiversity monitoring activities expanded outside Cambridge Bay and Kugluktuk to include Kugaaruk, Gjoa Haven, and Taloyoak. The expansion was made possible by support from Polar Knowledge Canada and the Blue Future’s Pathway program, which together enabled the hiring of a group of Nunavummiut youth to work as field technicians in four communities across Nunavut.
Funding Overview
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$50M in kind specimen collection
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$45M services
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$45M sequencing
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$40M enhance core facilities
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