First in Canada - SEQUEL II
Funded by a $650,000 grant by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Sequel II System will play a vital role in iBOL's second global project - BIOSCAN.
Automated high resolution imaging
Digital 4K microphotography supported by our Analytics Unit can generate 1.5 Million high resolution images in a year.
Advanced DNA Sequencing Services
The sequencing facility of the CBG offers the latest in DNA barcoding technology, research, and innovation.
BIOSCAN - the second iBOL Project
The International Barcode of Life Consortium is preparing for its second global project - BIOSCAN.
Informatics – BOLD v4
The Barcode of Life Data System is a global informatics workbench used to share data by over 29,000 users from more than 200 countries.
Collect, Image, Archive
The Analytics and Collections Units of the Centre for Biodiversity Genomics maintains a collection of over 5M digitized specimens and over 740K images.
Preserving Global Biodiversity
The sequencing facility of the Centre for Biodiversity Genomics has generated a DNA archive containing over 250,000 species.
Supporting Global DNA Barcode Research
The CBG supports the training and development of DNA barcode-related projects and researchers around the globe.
From field to lab to the palm of your hand
Here at the Centre for Biodiversity Genomics we take a uniquely interdisciplinary approach to this important field of research.
Bringing Genomics to Biodiversity
Recent News and Publications / From the CBG
The Centre for Biodiversity Genomics (CBG) is the global leader in the field of DNA barcoding. It occupies a 50,000 ft2 facility on the University of Guelph campus. Its unique research capacity reflects the coupling of one of Canada’s largest genomics platforms with a workforce that includes world-class expertise in biodiversity science, DNA sequencing, and informatics.
The CBG is clearly differentiated from other genomics organizations by the taxonomic scope of its work and by its commitment to genomic minimalism. Instead of characterizing entire genomes, the Centre employs sequence diversity in targeted gene regions to advance understanding of the diversity, distribution, and interactions of multicellular life. The Centre is best known for its role in leading the development of DNA barcoding as a tool for specimen identification and species discovery. In addition, researchers at the CBG are heavily involved in studies that use DNA barcodes for large-scale biomonitoring programs and to probe interactions among species.
The CBG gratefully receives substantial support from the Canada First Research Excellence Fund.
Multi-marker DNA metabarcoding detects suites of environmental gradients from an urban harbour
Robinson CV, Porter TM, McGee KM, McCusker M, Wright MTG, Hajibabaei M
BOLD opens licensing for more than 2.5 million images
“Reducing barriers to the access and utilization of biodiversity data serves to increase uptake and accelerates the generation of new methods and insights,” says Sujeevan Ratnasingham, BOLD’s founding architect. Open licensing allows scientists, artists, and companies to use, adapt, build upon, and redistribute BOLD specimen images in any medium or format, so long as the image creator is credited.
University of Guelph researchers seeing fewer spongy moths in local parks
Despite how present spongy moths were last spring and summer, researchers are noticing a decline in their presence, and other pests, in the trees at municipal parks in Guelph.
CBG researchers rank among the world’s top scientists in ecology and evolution
Three researchers from Guelph’s Centre for Biodiversity Genomics are among the world’s 1,000 Top Ecology and Evolution Scientists according to the ranking system developed by Research.com
Message in a Bottle — Metabarcoding enables biodiversity comparisons across ecoregions
Steinke D, deWaard SL, Sones JE, Ivanova NV, Prosser SWJ, Perez K, Braukmann TWA, Milton M, Zakharov EV, deWaard JR, Ratnasingham S, Hebert PDN
Extracting arthropods from bird nests: a compact, budget friendly trap design
Levesque-Beaudin, V