BIOSCAN

2019-2027

Revealing species, their interactions, and dynamics

Species Discovery

Assemble a DNA barcode reference library with records for each of the 20 million species of multicellular organisms which share our planet

Species Interactions

Detail the nature and intensity of interactions among all species to clarify their role in structuring biological communities

Species Dynamics

Establish a DNA-based observation system that tracks the shifting distribution and abundances of species on a planetary scale

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 member nations

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 symbiome.

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

BIOSCAN receives $24 million to illuminate Biodiversity

Jan 12, 2022

Can we establish a global biosurveillance system? Can we avert a planetary mass extinction? Helping to answer these and other large-scale questions about life on Earth is the goal of BIOSCAN, a project awarded $24 million in Canadian federal funding this month.