Revealing hidden microbes and scaling reference genomes: advances in biodiversity genomics
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Join us for an inspiring webinar showcasing how genomics is unlocking biodiversity and informing natural resource management. Discover how Oxford Nanopore sequencing technology is supporting the scaling up of reference genome production for birds and fish through the Darwin Tree of Life programme.
Learn how work at the Australian Centre for Ecogenomics is helping resolve the “ghost taxa” problem and building a comprehensive microbial genome atlas for the Great Barrier Reef Microbial Genomes Database using long-read sequencing.
Learn how these innovations can deliver more complete, accurate genomic resources — powering ecological research, conservation, and environmental decision-making.
In this webinar, you will learn:
- How short-read metagenomics misses abundant microbial taxa in marine ecosystems and how this impacts biodiversity studies
- The advantages of long-read sequencing and hybrid assembly approaches
- Insights into large-scale microbial genomics from the Great Barrier Reef
- Best practices for scaling reference genome production across diverse species
- How these genomic resources can inform biodiversity monitoring, ecosystem health assessments, and policy decisions
Meet the speakers
This talk will explore how nanopore sequencing is transforming genomics in the study and management of natural resources and the unique advantages of the technology — including direct, amplification-free sequencing, detection of base modifications, and flexible read lengths, from short to ultra-long. This introduction provides a clear overview of why nanopore sequencing is becoming a vital tool for researchers working across environmental and natural resource applications.
This talk will explore how nanopore sequencing is transforming genomics in the study and management of natural resources and the unique advantages of the technology — including direct, amplification-free sequencing, detection of base modifications, and flexible read lengths, from short to ultra-long. This introduction provides a clear overview of why nanopore sequencing is becoming a vital tool for researchers working across environmental and natural resource applications.
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Evgeny Glazov, Associate Director - Market Development APAC, Oxford Nanopore TechnologiesThe presentation will highlight the transition from producing individual reference genomes to building scalable, standardised genomic infrastructure for thousands of species. Using the Tree of Life programme as a model, it emphasises the global move toward shared biodiversity genomic resources to drive research, conservation, and monitoring. Key highlights include:
- The importance of assembly completeness in finding critical genes, repeats and regulatory regions
- Gene-rich microchromosomes and GC-rich regions make avian genomes especially difficult to assemble
- Nanopore high-accuracy long-reads recover complex and missing regions
- Genome sequencing at scale requires balancing standardisation with adaptability
The presentation will highlight the transition from producing individual reference genomes to building scalable, standardised genomic infrastructure for thousands of species. Using the Tree of Life programme as a model, it emphasises the global move toward shared biodiversity genomic resources to drive research, conservation, and monitoring. Key highlights include:
- The importance of assembly completeness in finding critical genes, repeats and regulatory regions
- Gene-rich microchromosomes and GC-rich regions make avian genomes especially difficult to assemble
- Nanopore high-accuracy long-reads recover complex and missing regions
- Genome sequencing at scale requires balancing standardisation with adaptability
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Kara Dicks, Programme Manager, Oxford Nanopore TechnologiesThe talk explores why short-read metagenomics often fails to detect abundant marine microbes — known as “ghost taxa” — due to GC bias and high strain diversity. To address this, the team combined nanopore long reads with short-read data, dramatically improving genome recovery and completeness. This approach enabled the creation of the Great Barrier Reef Microbial Atlas, a pioneering resource for understanding marine ecosystems. Key takeaways:
- Short-read sequencing leaves gaps, missing dominant low-GC microbial lineages like Prochlorococcus and SAR86
- Long-read and hybrid assemblies doubled genome recovery, tripled high-quality assemblies, and achieved ~10× higher contiguity
- Long reads revealed chromosome-level algal genomes and structural variation previously undetected
The talk explores why short-read metagenomics often fails to detect abundant marine microbes — known as “ghost taxa” — due to GC bias and high strain diversity. To address this, the team combined nanopore long reads with short-read data, dramatically improving genome recovery and completeness. This approach enabled the creation of the Great Barrier Reef Microbial Atlas, a pioneering resource for understanding marine ecosystems. Key takeaways:
- Short-read sequencing leaves gaps, missing dominant low-GC microbial lineages like Prochlorococcus and SAR86
- Long-read and hybrid assemblies doubled genome recovery, tripled high-quality assemblies, and achieved ~10× higher contiguity
- Long reads revealed chromosome-level algal genomes and structural variation previously undetected
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Steven Robbins, Applications Bioinformatician, Oxford Nanopore Technologies
