News

December 6 2023 National Herbarium of Rwanda, University of Rwanda joins GGBN

We are happy to announce that the National Herbarium of Rwanda[1] at the University of Rwanda has joined GGBN. Collections include 50 eDNA and 20,000+ tissue samples representing plants, terrestrial invertebrates, and vertebrates. Samples are managed with Symbiota and Excel.

The GGBN 2023 International Conference Presentations are Available to Watch on YouTube

The 2023 GGBN International Conference presentations are now available to watch on our YouTube page here! Check out some of the amazing talks from the conference!

November 06 2023 GGBN 2023 GGBN Announces 2025 Conference Host

We are happy to announce the South African National Biodiversity Institute and Biodiversity Biobanks South Africa as the host for the 2025 GGBN Conference in Cape Town, South Africa! Learn more about the institute here

October 16 2023 GGBN 2023 Conference Program Available Now

The 2023 GGBN International Conference program is now available to view here! Click to see presentation details, recommendations to do during your stay in Aguascalientes (if in person) and more.

September 7 2023 Hybrid Registration for 2023 GGBN International Conference Available Now

The 2023 GGBN International Conference will now be hybrid for those who want to join via Zoom! Virtual participants can register for $50 on Etix. There is also still time to register for those who want to attend the conference in person! Click HERE to register.

August 11 2023 NEON Biorepository, Arizona State University joins GGBN

We are pleased to announce the NEON Biorepository, Arizona State University has joined GGBN. Located in Tempe, Arizona, the NEON Biorepository has 31,358 DNA samples, 43,814 tissue samples, and 104,564 environmental samples.

August 07 2023 GGBN 2023 Conference: Abstract Submissions and General Registration Close August 31st

We are still accepting abstracts for the upcoming GGBN International Conference on Biodiversity Biobanking, taking place 17-20 October 2023 in Aguascalientes, Mexico. Please see the latest conference announcement attached for session details.

Important deadlines: General registration closes August 31st, late registration is open from September 1-October 1. The last day to submit your abstracts is August 31st.

Please submit your abstracts and complete registration HERE

June 23 2023 Palestine Institute for Biodiversity and Sustainability (PIBS), Bethlehem University joins GGBN

We are pleased to announce the Palestine Institute for Biodiversity and Sustainability (PIBS), Bethlehem University has joined GGBN. The biodiversity biobank collection includes over 200 DNA and 300 tissue samples representing plants, terrestrial invertebrates, and vertebrates. In addition to tissues and DNAs, the collection also includes environmental samples.

June 22 2023 GGBN 2023 Conference: Early Registration Closes June 30

Early registration and abstract submission for the GGBN 2023 Conference is now open through June 30th, don't miss your chance at the discount rates! General registration will be open from July 1-August 31.

This year's conference is intended to communicate ideas, new tools, expertise on biodiversity and environmental biobanking, and to encourage the community to make genomic collections public and broadly available for research while respecting the spirit of the Nagoya Protocol.

Registration, conference agenda, hotel, travel, and abstract submissions are now available on the conference website. Don't miss your chance to register for this in-person conference as rates are scheduled to increase.

We look forward to seeing you in Mexico this October 17-20.

June 14 2023 New Collections Update

The GGBN platform has recently added 1323 records of tissue and DNA from Universidad Nacional de Colombia's GERPH collection. These samples are associated with the project "Discovering vertebrate host and their blood parasites in Colombia's wildlife"

May 1 2023 GGBN 2023 Conference Registration and Abstract Submission Now Open

This year's conference is intended to communicate ideas, new tools, expertise on biodiversity and environmental biobanking, and to encourage the community to make genomic collections public and broadly available for research while respecting the spirit of the Nagoya Protocol.

Registration, conference agenda, hotel, travel, and abstract submissions are now available on the conference website. Don't miss your chance to register for this in-person conference as rates are scheduled to increase.

• registration and abstract submission

April 5 2023 GGBN 2023 Conference Registration and Abstract Submission Open May 1

GGBN 2023 Conference registration and abstract submission will open Monday, May 1st.

• preliminary conference agenda
• registration and abstract submission starting May 1st

January 27 2023 Museu Nacional, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro joins GGBN

We are happy to announce that the Museu Nacional (MNRJ) at the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro/Brazil has joined GGBN. Collections include 850 DNA and 627 tissue samples representing marine invertebrates. Samples are managed with Specify. MNRJ is a 2021 GGBN Awards program awardee.

18 January 2023 AGIR at the Universite D'Abomy-Calavi joins GGBN

We are happy to announce that the Integrated Resource Management Association(AGIR) at the Universite D'Abomey-Calavi in the Republic of Benin has joined GGBN, which includes the Herbier National du Benin and the Laboratory of Biomathematics and Forest Estimations of the Faculty of Agronomic Sciences. Collections include silica and environmental samples representing 186 plant species.

1 Dec 2022 Tissue samples made discoverable through GGBN

We are excited to announce that this year 253,163 new tissue samples have been made discoverable through the GGBN data portal, along with 233,503 new DNA samples, 2,307 new environmental samples, and 275 new herbarium specimens. Amongst those that provided data are Tooro Botanical Gardens, The Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Research on Biological Resources, Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute, National Museum of Natural History, and Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change.

21 October 2022 Registration for Universidad Nacional de Colombia Micro Organisms Collections Symposium: Management and Perspectives for Research Now Open

Latin America has a high diversity of microorganisms of importance in health, basic sciences and biotechnology. This event seeks to strengthen the management of microorganism collections and establish research and cooperation synergies in the region. Free event Registration form.

América Latina cuenta con alta diversidad de microorganismos de importancia en salud, ciencias básicas y biotecnología. Este evento busca fortalecer el manejo de colecciones de microorganismos y establecer sinergias de investigación y cooperación en la región. Evento gratuito Formulario de inscripción.

21 October 2022 Registration for Virtual Workshop on Data Management and Publication through GGBN Now Open

Registration is open now until October 23rd. Register today and share this with anyone who may be interested in attending.

Many thanks to the Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (INVEMAR), Colombia for organizing this event.

19 October 2022 GGBN 2023 Conference Website Now Online

The GGBN 2023 Conference website is now online with preliminary conference information, including conference dates and location, conference topics, and organizing committee members. Additional information on sessions, abstract submission and registration will follow later this fall.

16 September 2022 University of Wyoming Joins GGBN

We are happy to announce that the University of Wyoming Museum of Vertebrates [2] has joined GGBN as part of the GGBN Arctos Consortia membership. Genetic collections include 11,052 tissues representing 287 species of vertebrates.

15 September 2022 Biodiversity Biobanks South Africa Joins GGBN

We are happy to announce that the Biodiversity Biobanks South Africa has joined GGBN as a consortia member. Biobanks participating in this membership include:

• South African National Biodiversity Institute (Wildlife Biobank and Millennium Seedbank)
• South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (Aquatic Biodiversity Biobank)
• South African National Parks (Veterinary Wildlife Biobanks)
• Agricultural Research Council (Various biobanks, including fungi and nematode biobanks)
• University of Free State (Yeast Culture Collection)
• University of Western Cape (Microbial Biobank)

The BBSA is one of the projects under the South African Research Infrastructure Roadmap (SARIR) of the Department of Science & Innovation (DSI). The main aim of the BBSA is to increase the range and quality of biodiversity samples stored, and to increase and improve access for research and development.

11 July 2022 GGBN-GGI 2022 Award Program Results

We are happy to announce the results of the GGBN-GGI 2022 Awards Program. A total of four highly competitive proposals representing institutions across four countries were received and ranked by a peer review committee representative of GGBN membership. The panel ranked the proposals on the following metrics: complementarity to existing collections on GGBN; the size, scope, and quality of the collection; the genomic novelty of the collection; adherence to GGBN best practices; the efficiency or cost-effectiveness of the proposal; contribution to the GGBN community; and the timeline for completion. Priority consideration was given to proposals that represent institutions and collections 1) from the global south, 2) from countries with a low or middle-income (based on the latest WESP Economy by per capita GNI), and 3) that strategically address high-level taxonomic gaps in the GGBN Data Portal. The total funding requested was over 60,000 USD, just over 40,000 USD was awarded. Awardees will be contributing over 14,000 new genetic samples to the GGBN data portal by September 2024.

GGBN-GGI 2022 Awardees include: Kostrzyca Forest Gene Bank Oswaldo Cruz Foundation University of Wyoming Museum of Vertebrates

Congratulations everyone!

News Archive

Older news can be found in the GGBN News Archive.