Expressions of interest are being sought for the Genomics for Australian Plants (GAP) initiative. The initiative is a nationally-inclusive collaboration that Bioplatforms Australia is developing in conjunction with the plant research collections community. The Initiative is being driven by the plant research collections community and brings together researchers, data specialists, state governments, commonwealth government agencies, and plant conservation and research agencies with the aim of using genomics approaches to enable the community to better understand, utilise and conserve Australia’s unique plant diversity.

In the third stream of activity, the GAP Conservation Genomics component aims to provide genomic information to support conservation of the Australian flora. Conservation genomics covers a range of activities according to the management questions being addressed. The types of studies that appear to most fit the objectives of GAP are resolution of species complexes consisting of suspected conservation dependent species, as these address the principles developed for the GAP initiative i.e. uses herbarium specimens; builds capacity in herbaria and botanic gardens; provides genomic resources that can be used in future studies; improves knowledge of Australian plant diversity; has a direct conservation benefit and can be implemented across Australia with a common approach.

The initiative are now calling for Expressions of Interest from the community for the GAP Conservation Genomics stream. Further information can be found here. 

Please note that this is not a grant opportunity. The sequencing will be undertaken by Bioplatforms Australia genomics facilities through their Framework Initiative strategic investments, while the provision of DNA suitable for sequencing, and data analysis, are to be supported by research community co-investment.