Leveraging Research on Tropical Biodiversity Using Oxford Nanopore Technologies

Biodiversity research is bound to various global agreements like the Nagoya Protocol. Although, overseas biological material transfer for genomic analysis is possible, the mechanism is not yet established. Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) opens up opportunities for realizing the localized sequencing. We successfully conducted start-up research based on the principle of “democratization of technology” to collect locally genomic data from several tree species using ONT, namely Diospyros spp., Dryobalanops aromatica, Ochroma pyramidale, Pometia pinnata, Gyrinops spp., Castanopsis costata, and Eusideroxylon zwageri. While the works are on-going for other tree species, building capacity for conducting advanced biodiversity research is being enhanced.