BioDT partners, Dmitry Schigel (GBIF) and Dag Endresen (University of Oslo), are co-organising a Symposium session on “Exchange and Reuse of Environmental DNA and Metabarcoding Data” as part of the TWGD Conference in Hobart, Tasmania, 9-13 October 2023.

This session focuses on Metabarcoding of DNA, a standard tool for species detection in environmental samples like soil, water, and air. Researchers typically share raw sequence data, code, and metadata in repositories like GitHub and Dryad. However, for biodiversity research, raw sequences have limited applications compared to interpreted DNA metabarcoding data. The latter is often presented in ASV/OTU-tables containing sequence abundances and associated metadata. Unfortunately, these data are seldom shared in a standardised manner, hindering their broader reuse and integration with other biodiversity data and studies. The session aims to discuss ways to promote FAIR publication and standardization of biodiversity data for seamless integration and improved research outcomes. Read more.