$3.3-million grant will allow U of G zoologist to refine work in identifying species worldwide
BY LORI BONA HUNT
Prof. Paul Hebert, Zoology, has received more than $3.3 million from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to help equip, staff and operate the world's first centre for high-volume DNA bar-coding.
The grant is one of the largest gifts a single U of G researcher has received from a non-government organization in support of research. Allocated over three years, the money will help with construction costs and support infrastructure at the University's new Biodiversity Institute of Ontario.
“We are building the first-ever production line for DNA bar-coding, and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation award has played a critical role in making this possible,” says Hebert. “The foundation was willing to take a risk in aiding a new science idea. Their support is allowing us to rush the acquisition of DNA bar codes, not just here in Canada but across the planet.”
Hebert was the first scientist to propose that a short DNA sequence from a gene found in all animals can be used to identify species. He called it “DNA bar-coding” to reflect the fact that analysis focuses on a short, standard gene region. Just as retail bar codes allow the quick identification of millions of items on store shelves, so will DNA bar codes allow the rapid identification of species, he says.
Already, DNA bar-coding has led to the discovery of new species of birds, butterflies and fish. Hebert estimates that in about 20 years, the technique could enable completion of a catalogue of the estimated 10 million species of animals on the planet, of which only 1.2 million have been formally identified over the past 250 years.
“We are building a master key to life that will represent a major advance in accessibility to biological identifications.”
The new Biodiversity Institute, which Hebert will direct, will bring together researchers interested in DNA bar-coding and will provide the facilities and equipment needed to analyze species from around the world. The facility has also received support from the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Ontario Innovation Trust and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council.
“The institute is capturing the excitement of rediscovering the natural world,” says Prof. Alan Wildeman, vice-president (research). “The funding from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and indeed all the organizations supporting this institute, will help fuel that excitement worldwide.”
DNA bar-coding is already being used by scientists around the world. This fall, a renowned fish researcher from Australia came to Guelph, bringing with him 1,000 tissue samples that included representatives of one per cent of all fish species on the planet.
“Fishes are a big challenge for identification because they're the most diverse group of vertebrates,” says Hebert. “In just 10 days, however, we assembled DNA bar codes for this subset of fishes and, in the process, identified several new species.”
He and other scientists have already begun to establish a public online database that includes DNA bar-code sequences of known and newly discovered plant and animal species. In the longer term, they expect that inexpensive hand-held devices will allow lay users to do DNA analysis. “Even kids could use this device to input a specimen, gain a DNA sequence and identify anything they encounter,” Hebert says.
The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation was established in September 2000 by Intel co-founder Gordon Moore and his wife, Betty. It funds outcome-based projects that will measurably improve the quality of life by creating positive outcomes for future generations. Grants are targeted at initiatives that support the foundation's principal areas of concern: environmental conservation, science, higher education and the San Francisco Bay area.
