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A positioning statement from the ERGA Social Justice Committee regarding current events and recent political developments. Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=915039 In November 2024, after an ERGA Council vote, the Social Justice Subcommittee became an independent committee. We are grateful for this decision. It shows that the European Reference Genome Atlas is serious about excellent science: one that is stronger when everyone can participate and succeed. As a newly formed committee, we want to honour this trust through clear goals and concrete actions. Our purpose is to recognise the many identities and lived experiences within ERGA, and in the communities we work with and live in. We want to ensure this diversity can fully join and shape ERGA’s scientific work. We know some colleagues may wonder whether our mission is too ambitious or too complicated. We understand these concerns. Real change takes time, steady action, and caring for others. Many people feel tired or unsure of past and present challenges. We are aware that an ideal academic environment does not exist today, but we wish to work towards full inclusion. Bias, exclusion, and unhealthy workplaces have not disappeared. Yet, we believe we can improve things, step by step, and that this effort is worthwhile. Social justice is everyone's daily experience. In recent years, some debates have become more divisive and polarised. We invite people with many viewpoints to engage with us. We hear from those who have worked on social justice before and felt that progress was slow or unnoticed. Our committee will focus on practical actions that will make genomics research across Europe more fair, open, and inclusive. We work across many aspects of diversity, including ethnicity, gender, social class, language, orientation, religion, neurodiversity, and disability. By taking an intersectional approach and taking action together, we aim to show that progress is possible. We also aim to show that shared success lifts us all. There is real work ahead, and it will not always be easy. We do not ignore this reality. We recognise the ERGA Council's courage in making our work more visible. Efforts toward equality, equity, diversity, and inclusion bring clear benefits. It improves our relationships with our partners’ communities. It strengthens trust and collaboration among colleagues. It creates safer and healthier workplaces. Most of all, it leads to better science. These are goals worth pursuing, and we are committed to turning them into actions. Authors: James F. Fleming, Fabrizio Ghiselli, Jennifer Leonard, Rebekah Oomen, Lada Lukic Bilela, Chiara Bortoluzzi, Christian de Guttry.

Join us for this month’s ERGA Plenary meeting ! On Monday, February 16, at 15:00 CET , Cibele Sotero-Caio, curator of the Genomes on a Tree ( GoaT ) database, will present an update on this important repository of genome-relevant metadata, including recent developments and efforts to address feedback from its growing user community. Abstract Genomes on a Tree ( GoaT ) is a searchable datastore of genome-relevant metadata for eukaryotic species based on aggregated information on completed sequencing efforts (e.g. assembly metrics) and metadata dispersed across specialised databases (e.g. karyotype, genome size, country lists, etc.). GoaT collates information on sequencing intent and progress across more than 40 Earth BioGenome Project affiliates, including several initiatives under the ERGA umbrella (e.g. ATLASea, DToL, ERGA-Pilot, ERGA-BGE, Yggdrasil). GoaT generates summary values at species level by collating all existing observations for a taxon. At higher taxonomic ranks, summaries are inferred from aggregation of observed values across descendant taxa. When species-level data are unavailable, GoaT estimates values based on observations from related taxa sharing a common ancestor. On the GoaT web site, estimated values are visualised through colour-coded, thermometer-style icons, allowing users to identify interpolated data and evaluate the suitability of any estimates for their particular use case according to how far up the phylogenetic tree the underlying estimates originate. These inferred values have proven valuable for production genomics, helping to guide the allocation of sequencing resources, as well as informing expectations about genomic features in poorly characterised taxa. As the GoaT user base continues to expand, the flexible design of the resource does not always align with the expectations or needs of all user groups, particularly non-specialist users. To address this, the GoaT team collaborated with the ERGA communications team to design and disseminate a user survey aimed at: (1) characterising the GoaT user base among ERGA members, (2) identifying key challenges faced by users, and (3) collecting feedback to improve usability and user experience. Survey insights informed the development of a targeted strategy to address identified issues, clarify common misunderstandings, and produce tutorials and support materials. In this talk, I will present the actions taken in response to ERGA community feedback, outline current plans, and demonstrate how users can engage with the GoaT team to contribute and request content as we work to maximise the usability of the resource. Speaker Cibele Sotero-Caio is based at the Wellcome Sanger Institute as part of the Tree of Life Programme, where she works as the curator of the Genomes on a Tree (GoaT) database. She collaborates with the Earth BioGenome Project and other stakeholders to ensure that GoaT metadata can be used to report genome sequencing progress, support large-scale genome production, and assist with prioritisation while preventing duplication of effort across existing sequencing initiatives. 🔔 To receive the Zoom link and join this and our upcoming plenary meetings, register as an ERGA member . ▶️ You can watch all previous ERGA Plenary talks here . If you would like to suggest a speaker or topic for a future plenary session, please contact us at training@erga-biodiversity.eu . Your input is very welcome!

News New Publication! From Permits to Samples: Addressing Key Challenges for High-Quality Reference Genome Generation in Europe Led by the Sampling & Sample Processing Comittee , the article titled “From Permits to Samples: Addressing Key Challenges for High-Quality Reference Genome Generation in Europe " was published last week in Molecular Ecology Resources. This publication draws on the practical experiences of the ERGA community. Congratulations to all the authors! Help choose the new ERGA Logo! ERGA is working with a communications company ( https://www.musicanti.eu/en/ ) to develop a new visual identity and website. A key part of this process is selecting a new logo. Because this is such an important decision, members of the ERGA community have been invited to express their preferences on the design of the new logo . All registered ERGA members received an email with a survey link to vote on Tuesday, January 27th (please check your spam folder and contact media@erga-biodiversity.eu if you did not receive the link). The form will remain open until February 3rd, so don’t forget to cast your vote before the deadline! BG Connects policy roundtable: Report now available Photo: BGE The final act of the BG Connects event, last October, convened a group of key policymakers, researchers, and civil society actors to explore how biodiversity genomics can support Europe’s response to biodiversity loss, drive innovation and contribute to the goals of the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030 and the European Green Deal. The roundtable, titled “Biodiversity innovation: Enabling technology for nature and green growth” , counted on the presence of Costas Kadis, European Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans. Become an ATLASea Species Ambassador! The ATLASea project is actively seeking input from the community for species to sequence. These have to be sampled in a marine/brackish/estuary environment, and be documented in the French EEZ (but can be sampled outside the French EEZ). If you have one or several such a species in mind for a scientific or applied project, or even would like to discuss a larger project encompassing a taxonomic group or specific geographic location, you can get in touch via the ATLASea Ambassador scheme:  https://www.atlasea.fr/en/species-ambassadors/ 🐐 GoaT Update Check below some useful tips to transform the way you work with the Genomes on a Tree ( GoaT ) Portal: Images by Anna Bramucci 🔔 Save the date! The next ERGA Plenary (Monday, February 16th at 15:00 CET) will feature a presentation by Dr Cibele Sotero-Caio, genomic data curator for the Genomes on a Tree (GoaT) databasing tool. Cibele will present the solutions found to address the feedback provided by the ERGA community and their strategies to increase transparancy and access to information. Events 2025 i5k Annual Meeting 4 February | Online Genome Annotation Workshop 2026 28 - 30 April, 2026 | Online MCEB 2026 Mathematical and Computational Evolutionary Biology 4-8 May - Heraklion, Crete European Congress of Conservation Biology (ECCB) 2026 6-10 July - Leiden, The Netherlands European Conference on Computational Biology (ECCB 2026) 31 August - 3 September 2026 | Geneva, Switzerland Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG) Conference 2026 21-25 September | Oslo, Norway / Hybrid Featured conferences with sessions organized by ERGA members: Are you attending events or organizing sessions/workshops not listed here? Let us know—we can help you reach more attendees from the biodiversity genomics community! World Biodiversity Forum 14-19 June | Davos, Switzerland Workshop: Genome(ics)‑enabled indicators for biodiversity targets Website says Invitation Only - but please just reach out for an invitation! Early Bird: 24.3.2026 Annual Meeting of the Society for Molecular Biology & Evolution  SMBE 2026  28 June - 2 July | Copenhagen, Denmark Evolutionary-informed management of vulnerable populations in a rapidly changing world Molecular Evolution in the Era of Genetic Diversity Decline New frontiers in sex evolution: evolutionary patterns and innovations The evolution of recombination landscapes From genomic graphs to evolutionary insights: standardising pangenomes for population inference Early Bird: 31.3.2026 European Congress of Conservation Biology (ECCB) 2026 6-10 July | Leiden, The Netherlands Workshop: Genomics-based Essential Biodiversity Variables for European biodiversity monitoring Round table: Stakeholders' voices on biodiversity genomics: Round Table: Local voices on genomics Symposium: Conservation genomics-based decisions in a changing Europe Early Bird: 30.4.2026 From the #ERGABlog ATLASea: progress on sequencing marine biodiversity ERGA 2025: Community Highlights 🎧 Genomic Connections # 7 - Bringing data to life: Biodiversity genomics applications Useful links HAVE ANYTHING TO SHARE? Click and Submit to ERGANews! Click her e to become an ERGA Member Public EVENTS calendar here  - add this to your Calendar or iCalendar! 💬 Follow us on social media! BlueSky LinkedIn YouTube

Executive Board Council of Countries Committees Our Partners Pilot Project Former Contributors top OUR COMMUNITY ERGA is an bottom-up initiative based on people, consisting of hundreds of scientists across the entire European continent and beyond. Research institutions, infrastructure facilities as well as partner genome projects will play an important role within ERGA. Finally, ERGA will have a focus on societal needs particularly related to Biodiversity conservation. For that purpose, ERGA will work engaging governmental and non-governmental entities and will closely involve citizens in different actions. Executive Board Executive Board executive-board@erga-biodiversity.eu Robert Waterhouse Chair Ann Mc Cartney Vice Chair Olga Vinnere Pettersson Vice Chair Tyler Alioto Scientific Officer Kay Lucek Partnership Officer Stefaniya Kamenova Dissemination Officer Lada Lukić Bilela Social Integration Officer Camila Mazzoni Funding Opportunities Officer Jaakko Pohjoismäki Genomic Outreach Officer List of Former Executive Board Members > Council of Country Representatives Contact the national representatives for more information on the ERGA community in your country! Andorra Andorra@erga-biodiversity.eu Manel Niell List of Former Council Members > Council of Countries Committees SSP - Sampling & Sample Processing samples@erga-biodiversity.eu More > DAC - Data Analysis Committee analysis@erga-biodiversity.eu More > Media & Communications media@erga-biodiversity.eu More > Social Justice Committee socialjustice@erga-biodiversity.eu More > SAC - Sequencing and Assembly Committee assembly@erga-biodiversity.eu More > ITIC - IT & Infrastructure Committee itinfra@erga-biodiversity.eu More > CS - Citizen Science citizenscience@erga-biodiversity.eu More > Annotation Committee annotation@erga-biodiversity.eu More > ELSI - Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues elsi@erga-biodiversity.eu More > TKT - Training and Knowledge Transfer training@erga-biodiversity.eu More > Committees Our Partners Our Partners ERGA is the pan-European partner of the Earth Biogenome Project (EBP) Affiliated Initiatives Associated Partners Pilot Project Pilot Project Committee Coordinators pilot@erga-biodiversity.eu Giulio Formenti Alice Mouton Ann Mc Cartney Learn more about the Pilot Project Former Contributors SSP - Sampling & Sample Processing Committee Filter by Type Astrid Böhne (Former Committee Chair) Former Contributors

The European Reference Genome Atlas (ERGA) initiative is a pan-European scientific response to current threats to biodiversity. Reference genomes provide the most complete insight into the genetic basis that forms each species and represent a powerful resource in understanding how biodiversity functions. With approxima HOME A GENOME ATLAS OF EUROPEAN BIODIVERSITY The European Reference Genome Atlas (ERGA) initiative is a pan-European scientific response to current threats to biodiversity. Reference genomes provide the most complete insight into the genetic basis that forms each species and represent a powerful resource in understanding how biodiversity functions. With approximately one fifth of the ~200,000 European species at risk of extinction, we need to act fast and together to generate high-quality complete genome resources in large scale. Science needs genomes to understand biodiversity, biodiversity needs to be understood to be protected. HIGHLIGHTS Sampling for genomics studies across the tree of life Uncovering the evolution of Mediterranean soft corals with genomics Welcome to the new members of the ERGA Executive Board! EVENTS Sampling for genomics studies across the tree of life Join the Taxon Sampling SOP Hackathon! Biodiversity Reference Genomes at ENA and the ERGA Data Portal Open to Collaborate ERGA is committed to the development of new modes of collaboration, engagement, and partnership with Indigenous peoples for the care and stewardship of past and future heritage collections. Calls OUR MISSION 1/3 1/3 1/3 1/3 WHAT WE DO Establishing high-quality reference genomes requires an interdisciplinary workflow From species to genomes … and beyond. From species selection to data analysis, the process of creating reference genomes for the entire biodiversity will involve a deep synergy among museums, research institutes, universities, sequencing centres, bioinformatics and computational groups. Citizens will also play an important role supporting the inclusion of all types of species. WHAT WE AIM FOR Creating and consolidating a collaborative and interdisciplinary network of scientists across Europe and associated countries Connecting relevant infrastructure across Europe following a distributed model that can dynamically increase Propagating guidelines for state-of-the-art genome establishment through training and knowledge transfer Next La comunidad ERGA tiene como objetivo optimizar la producción de genomas de referencia mediante el desarrollo y el intercambio de protocolos y flujos de trabajo, brindando acceso a recursos y apoyando el desarrollo de capacidades a través de la transferencia de conocimientos - para mejorar y ampliar el uso de datos genómicos para la protección y restauración de la biodiversidad Next OUR PROJECTS ERGA Pilot The Pilot Project was launched to demonstrate the feasibility of continent-wide collaboration. It was established, funded, and driven entirely by its members. Read more >> Biodiversity Genomics Europe ERGA has recently been funded as part of the Biodiversity Genomics Europe project through the European Union's Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Action. Read more ERGA Community Genomes Are you planning or developing a reference genome project of a European species? Join the growing family of ERGA Community G enomes! Read mo re “Species conservation is urgent and demands deep knowledge of the genetic features of their populations. A coordinated effort to generate complete reference genomes for all European biodiversity, such as what we are proposing with ERGA, can give us the whole picture about the adaptive differences and extent of a need for genetic rescue among populations and species.” Dr. Camila Mazzoni, Founding Chair, ERGA. Research Group Leader Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research Berlin, Germany

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