Building a Portuguese coalition for biodiversity genomics

Abstract

The diverse physiography of the Portuguese land and marine territory, spanning from continental Europe to the Atlantic archipelagos, has made it an important repository of biodiversity throughout the Pleistocene glacial cycles, leading to a remarkable diversity of species and ecosystems. This rich biodiversity is under threat from anthropogenic drivers, such as climate change, invasive species, land use changes, overexploitation, or pathogen (re)emergence. The inventory, characterisation, and study of biodiversity at inter- and intra-specific levels using genomics is crucial to promote its preservation and recovery by informing biodiversity conservation policies, management measures, and research. The participation of researchers from Portuguese institutions in the European Reference Genome Atlas (ERGA) initiative and its pilot effort to generate reference genomes for European biodiversity has reinforced the establishment of Biogenome Portugal. This nascent institutional network will connect the national community of researchers in genomics. Here, we describe the Portuguese contribution to ERGA’s pilot effort, which will generate high-quality reference genomes of six species from Portugal that are endemic, iconic, and/or endangered and include plants, insects, and vertebrates (fish, birds, and mammals) from mainland Portugal or the Azores islands. In addition, we outline the objectives of Biogenome Portugal, which aims to (i) promote scientific collaboration, (ii) contribute to advanced training, (iii) stimulate the participation of institutions and researchers based in Portugal in international biodiversity genomics initiatives, and (iv) contribute to the transfer of knowledge to stakeholders and engaging the public to preserve biodiversity. This initiative will strengthen biodiversity genomics research in Portugal and fuel the genomic inventory of Portuguese eukaryotic species. Such efforts will be critical to the conservation of the country’s rich biodiversity and will contribute to ERGA’s goal of generating reference genomes for European species.

Fig. 1. Geographic distribution and institutional affiliations of ERGA-Portugal members across the Portuguese territory.

a Spatial context of the Portuguese territory, including the two Autonomous Regions (Azores and Madeira). b Distribution of the Portugal-based members of ERGA (ERGA-Portugal), including their host institutions (31 May 2023). Maps made with Natural Earth (www.naturalearthdata.com).

Fig. 2. Distribution and sampling localities of ERGA-Portugal species sequenced in ERGA’s pilot effort across Portuguese territories.

Approximate distributions and sampling localities of ERGA-Portugal species sequenced in ERGA’s pilot effort: a Iberian minnowcarp—Anaecypris hispanica; b Iberian hare—Lepus granatensis; c Azores laurel—Laurus azorica; d Black wheatear—Oenanthe leucura; e Portuguese crowberry—Corema album; f Cave ground beetle—Trechus terceiranus. Picture credits: a Carlos Carrapato; b Pedro Moreira; c Mónica Moura; d Ricardo Jorge Lopes; e Manuela Sim-Sim; f Javier Torrent (Azorean Biodiversity Group). Species distributions are coloured according to terrestrial (green) or aquatic (blue) territories. Sampling localities are marked with a black dot except for the Iberian minnowcarp (a) that is double marked, as it was sampled in the Aquário Vasco da Gama—Lisbon (black dot with a white star inside), but it is originally from a population of River Chança. All specimens were sampled within Portuguese territory, including both mainland Portugal and the Azores. Distributions were adjusted from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Website (https://www.iucnredlist.org), except for the Portuguese crowberry, which was based on information from the Anthos geographical information system for Spanish Flora (www.anthos.es).