| Soil Biodiversity Datasets |
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Bioplatforms Australia is investing in a new national dataset on soil biodiversity. Titled Biome of Australia Soil Environments (BASE), this collaborative project will create large scale genomic datasets of Australian soil biomes across a range of different sites. Soil provides the very basis for all our lives, largely through the provision of nutrients to plants that feed both animals and humans. As such, soil is not merely a passive player as it hosts microbial communities that are primary drivers of soil ecological processes, such as nutrient and carbon cycling, as well as being intimately involved in a range of symbiotic and pathogenic co-evolutionary relationships with plants. The BASE project will focus on collecting metagenomics measurements across a range of different sites in order to create a reference map of Australia’s soil. The datasets will be made publicly available and can be linked with other measurements and data such as overland surveys, meteorological data and geological information to enhance the ecological knowledge of the Australian continent and contribute to land management strategies. The datasets are proposed to be generated in two phases: 1) a pilot study to determine soil variability and optimum protocols; and To aid interpretation of the soil site sequencing data, relevant reference genome datasets will also be generated. In order to maximise the impact of this project Bioplatforms Australia will work with a number of national and international organisations. Current partners include:
Bioplatforms Australia invites broad collaboration for its datasets projects. If you are interested in BASE and able to support the project with relevant research or industry expertise please contact Dr Anna Fitzgerald for further information. Anna Fitzgerald Photograph: Pilbara region, WA. JoëL Brugger. |
