Recently BIFoR-FACE applied to join a consortium in the hope of contributing monthly samples of flying insects to the BIOSCAN initiative being led by the Sanger Institute.
Using DNA barcoding, BIOSCAN hope to collect over 1 million flying insects from across the UK over a 5-year period. As a long-term experiment (LTE), BIFoR-FACE immediately recognised the opportunity to not only greatly enhance its own dataset, but to contribute to a highly ambitious and beneficial study with long-term aspirations. BIOSCAN hopes to collect from over 100 sites across the UK and we believe that LTEs could greatly benefit from the increased dataset.
The Sanger Institute will supply all the materials needed, method statement, and cover the DNA extraction and analysis costs. All you need to do is put out a malaise trap for 24 hours, collect the sample, plate out individual insects, and put it in the post.
What are you waiting for?
