The fourth episode of the #GenomicsFutures podcast series focuses on the future of environmental genomics! Genomics could transform how we protect life on Earth, but big challenges remain. This episode covers topics including: Genomics for climate resilience: Genomic information is seen as a critical catalyst for mitigating climate change impacts, particularly in developing resilient crops to ensure global food security.Real-time biomonitoring: Future tools, such as handheld "tricorders" or autonomous marine samplers, could provide real-time dashboards of ecosystem health, flagging disease outbreaks or invasive species before they become crises.Indigenous knowledge and sovereignty: Integrating indigenous knowledge and ensuring data sovereignty are essential, making local communities equal partners in research and benefit-sharing.Functional biodiversity: Rather than just saving single species, the focus is shifting toward restoring the functions and connectivity of entire ecosystems to make them self-sustaining and resilient.This episode includes interviews with: Dr Mark Blaxter, Head of the Tree of Life programme at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, and Dr Alan Dangour, Director of Climate and Health at Wellcome.Dr Federica Di Palma, Vice President of Genome British Columbia, talks about bioprospecting and data sovereignty.Professor Rasmus Grondfeldt Winther, from the University of California, Santa Cruz and the University of Copenhagen, speaks about climate resilience and ethics.Dr ThankGod Ebenezer, Global Engagement Manager at EMBL’s European Bioinformatics Institute, discusses the future of biodiversity and biomonitoring.Dr Roksana Majewska, marine researcher at Nord University in Norway, and Professor Maui Hudson, co-director of the Te Kotahi Research Institute in New Zealand, explore restructuring degraded ecosystems and the role of indigenous knowledge in science. More information about things mentioned in this episode: Earth BioGenome Project – a project aiming to sequence, catalog and characterise the genomes of all of Earth’s eukaryotic biodiversity over a period of ten years.African BioGenome project – A coordinated pan-African effort to build capacity (and infrastructure) to generate, analyze and deploy genomics data for the improvement and sustainable use of biodiversity and agriculture across Africa.Ancient Environmental Genomics Initiative for Sustainability (AEGIS) – a global consortium led by the Globe Institute at the University of Copenhagen. AEGIS aims to develop the essential science and methodology to use ancient environmental DNA (eDNA) – coupled with other ancient and modern biomolecule-based approaches – to identify important organismal associations and genetic adaptations in natural and agro-ecosystems that will improve future food security under climate change.Conference of the Parties (COP) – the supreme decision-making body of an international convention.Benefits sharing – a concept referring to the equitable distribution of advantages derived from the use of resources, particularly in contexts like genetic resources, community projects, and environmental conservation.European Reference Genome Atlas – a pan-European scientific response initiative to current threats to biodiversity with the mission to sequence reference quality genomes for all European species.Onso system – a benchtop short-read benchtop DNA sequencing platform.Moana project – an $11 million ocean project funded by the NZ Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment. The project aims to vastly improve understanding of coastal ocean circulation, connectivity and marine heatwaves to provide information that supports sustainable growth of the seafood industry, science research efforts, iwi initiatives and how we manage our marine environments. 25 years on from the release of the first draft of the human genome, the Genomics Futures podcast series explores what the future of genomics will be like in 2050. Across 6 episodes, we explore the themes and topics that arose from discussions that took place during the Genomics Futures workshops, hosted by the Wellcome Sanger Institute and Wellcome in 2025. The aim of these podcasts is not to showcase definitive thoughts, but to explore the possibilities of genomics in twenty five years’ time, hence why some speakers may contradict each other. The views expressed in these podcasts are of the speakers alone. Further information about the workshops including further outputs can be found here: https://www.sanger.ac.uk/innovation/sanger-genomics-futures-series/ This podcast is produced by the Wellcome Sanger Institute.
