Scientists to Map Genome of All Life Forms on Earth

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Scientists across the world have set an ambitious goal for themselves: to sequence the genome of every known life form on Earth within the next decade.

The Earth BioGenome Project, launched this week in London, is attempting to map the entire DNA of every known animal, plant, fungus and protozoan on the planet, roughly 1.5 million species.

Scientists say the project rivals in importance the Human Genome Project, which took 13 years to map the human genetic code. That project was completed in 2003.



The new project will rely on scientists contributing data from around the world, with the largest pledge so far coming from Britain’s Wellcome Sanger Institute, which says it will map 66,000 species. The institute was also a large contributor to the Human Genome Project.

The cost of the massive project is estimated to be $4.7 billion, which will come from charities and governments around the world.

Scientists say the result of the grand-scale project would be a huge resource for researchers that could offer insights into a range of topics, including a better understanding of evolution, the development of diseases, and insight into the aging process.

Researchers also hope the information could help in efforts to conserve threatened species by better understanding how life forms can adapt to changes.