Consortium for the Barcode of Life (CBOL)

1. Consortium for the Barcode of Life (CBOL) David E. Schindel, Executive Secretary National Museum of Natural History Smithsonian Institution SchindelD@si.edu; http://www.barcoding.si.edu 202/633-0812; fax 202/633-2938

2. Consortium for the Barcode of Life: Major Points • History of development • Recent origin, rapid growth • Mode of operation as an international initiative • Compromise between bottom-up, democratic (slow) and top-down, centrally-managed (nimble) organization • Distributed activity that seeks global participation • Minimal bureaucracy, highly user-driven • Focused on projects with near- and mid-term results • Goal of this meeting: Priorities for Next Steps

3. Consortium for the Barcode of Life (CBOL) • First barcoding publications in 2002 • Cold Spring Harbor planning workshops in 2003 • Sloan Foundation grant, launch in May 2004 • Secretariat opens at Smithsonian, September 2004 • First international conference February 2005 • Now an international affiliation of: • 100+ Members Org’s, 40 countries, 6 continents • Natural history museums, biodiversity organizations • Users: e.g., government agencies • Private sector biotech companies, database providers

4. CBOL Structure Member Organizations Executive Committee Secretariat Office Working Groups Scientific Advisory Board

5. CBOL Member Organizations: 2006 • 100+ Member organizations, 40 countries • 30 Member organizations from 20 developing countries

6. CBOL Member Organizations: 2008Engaging collections, researchers and users • Expand membership to 200 organizations • Double participation in developing countries • Four regional meetings in 2006 to expand awareness, assess needs, start networks in: • Southern and eastern Africa • South America • Southern Asia • Working with BioNET, development agencies • Second International Barcode Conference, Southeast Asia, February 2007

7. Current and Planned Projects • Four Working Groups • FishBOL and All Birds Initiatives • International Network for Barcoding Invasive and Pest Species (INBIPS) • Created Steering Committees for: • Tephritid fruit flies (agricultural pests) • Mosquitoes (disease vectors) • African bushmeat (endangered vertebrates)

8. CBOL’s Working Groups • Database: Designing/constructing the Barcode Section of GenBank • DNA: Protocols for formalin-fixed and old museum specimens; advice to new labs • Data Analysis: Beyond phenetic methods; population genetics perspective • Plants: Identify gene region(s) for barcoding

9. ABBI and FISH-BOL • Global initiatives to create reference library • Enable users to adopt barcode ID systems • All-species barcode database will: • Strengthen specimen/species data • Improve collections, tissue/DNA resources • Attract users to barcoding for specimen IDs • Regional Working Groups • Small Steering Committee and CBOL

10. Structure of this meeting • Friday morning: Information transfer • Friday afternoon/Saturday morning: reflection and discussion • Saturday afternoon: • Compile and discuss priorities • Identify opportunities, needs for projects • Agree on next steps for networks, Steering Committees, proposal development • Post-meeting: CBOL and BioNET will facilitate next steps

11. Goals of Regional Meetings • Raise awareness • Explore potential applications in the region • Assess greatest needs and opportunities in the region • Identify highest priorities, construct national and regional action plans • Start intra-regional networks and intercontinental partnerships

12. Possible Follow-On Activities • In-country training • Research training fellowships • Infrastructure improvement: • Lab equipment acquisition • Collections • Information technology • Other forms of capacity-building identified during regional meetings