The analysis, from Frontier Economics has calculated how much the Darwin Tree of Life Project (DToL) will benefit the UK economy across the fields of research, agriculture and conservation over the next 30 years.
The report showcases the return on investment that the DToL project offers and highlights how it has already saved the global scientific community £55 million in research costs, by providing over 2,500 reference genomes for open access use.
Global leader
DToL has supplied 30 per cent of the world's biodiversity genomes, making it a world-leader in genomic research.
The project is a partnership of nine institutions including the Universities of Edinburgh, Oxford and Cambridge, University College Dublin, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Natural History Museum, The Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh and many more.
Scientists from the University of Edinburgh have played a key role in collecting, analysing and sequencing the genomes of a variety of British plants – which incorporates the total of their entire DNA.
Economic benefits
Frontier Economics’ report has identified the key areas where the economic impact and return on investment will be achieved.
UK agriculture could gain an estimated £800 million-£1.4 billion over the next 30 years withhgh-quality reference genomes which can be used to help find new ways to improve crop resilience, tackle invasive pests, ensure the sustainability of fish stocks and find new ways to treat livestock diseases, the report found
Elsewhere, UK ecosystem management services could achieve an estimated benefit of £1.3 billion from using DToL reference genomes to identify threatened species, shape strategic decisions and improve the success of conservation projects.
Added value
The report highlighted an estimated £170 million-£340 million benefit to the research and innovation sector, through direct savings and reinvestment of funding into research. DToL will also stimulate innovation in specific technologies, including the biodiversity monitoring market, projected to reach $137 million globally by 2032.
It also shows how reference genomes can help uncover the next generation of medicines and biomaterials in the genes of species around us.
Transforming science
The instructions for every living thing are found in its DNA, along with its genetic story, tracking where it came from, how it evolved to adapt to new challenges and how it might handle such changes in the future.
DToL aims to sequence the DNA of all findable organisms in the UK and Ireland including animals, plants and fungi – totalling an estimated 30,000 species.
The gold-standard reference genomes produced by the project are open access and will help transform how the scientific and research community conducts biology, biodiversity and conservation research.
The Frontier Economics report: The value of reference genomes and the Darwin Tree of Life Project was funded by the Wellcome Sanger Institute’s core funding.