The Australian Pest Genome Partnership, announced by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) on Wednesday, will seek to produce genomic data of Australia's top pest and weed species.

Edited by |Christian Megan

Science section

6 April 2023 - Sydeny

      Australia's national science agency has launched an ambitious project to crack the genetic codes of invasive species to aid management and eradication efforts.

The Australian Pest Genome Partnership, announced by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) on Wednesday, will seek to produce genomic data of Australia's top pest and weed species.

The data will be made freely available along with solutions to help analyze it, making it easily usable for pest management.

"This project has the potential to drive new science and digital innovations to safeguard Australia's environment and biosecurity from existing and growing threats posed by invasive and pest species," Tom Walsh, CSIRO principal research scientist, said in a media release.

"In the same way genome sequencing has helped inform medical advice, pest genomes can help us unlock new ways of protecting our environment, agricultural sector, and public health with a quick and targeted response."

According to research published by Flinders University in 2021, invasive species have cost the Australian economy 390 billion Australian dollars (261.8 billion U.S. dollars) over the past six decades.

Weeds were the most damaging group of invasive species, costing the agriculture sector 5 billion Australian dollars (3.3 billion U.S. dollars) every year.

The team has already sequenced 28 species, including the cane toad, feral pigs and cats, and weeds such as wild radish, with hundreds more expected to follow through the rest of 2023.

Rahul Rane, a CSIRO senior research consultant, said the database would be a game-changer for invasive species management.

"The more we know about the genetic characteristics of a pest, the better our ability to make informed decisions to effectively control or eliminate them safely," he said

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