About

gbi-logo-2022

 

 

 

The Challenge

Conservation efforts for California's endangered plants are fragmented and dispersed regionally.

  •     Endangered plants, including those with relatives that exhibit medicinal or important survival traits, are often overlooked.
  •     Conservation organizations, government agencies, botanical gardens, and zoos do not have significant budgets to genetically profile their endangered plants.
  •     Students are looking for meaningful, hands-on projects to learn world-class laboratory techniques and support genomics research.

 

The Work of the Green Biome Institute

  • Contribute to conservation and medicinal research by producing:
    • Draft sequence assemblies of:
      • nuclear genomes
      • chloroplast genomes
      • transcriptomes
      • microbiomes
    • Lists of: 
      • genes
      • possible barcode sites
      • secondary metabolites
    • Reports
      • white papers for analysis performed on each plant
      • metabolomics for medicinal properties
  • Support the conservation of plant species by providing population genomics data and by advancing propagation, cloning, and seed banking of hard-to-store plants in collaboration with Botanical Gardens and other conservation-focused institutions.
  • Through the use genomic sequencing data and metabolomics, uncover the medicinal potential of 100 endangered California plants and contribute to the discovery of new sources of important medicinal compounds by 2026.
  • Make all GBI data public and freely available.
  • Sponsor meaningful, equitable, and inclusive student training and mentorship in areas including Conservation Biology, Genomics, and Drug Discovery. 
  • Prepare a diverse student population to contribute and succeed in science careers and to become our future leaders.