Genomic data are being produced and archived at a prodigious rate, and current studies could become historical baselines for future global genetic diversity analyses and monitoring programs. However, when we evaluated the potential utility of genomic data from wild and domesticated eukaryote species in the world’s largest genomic data repository, we found that most archived genomic datasets (87%) lacked the spatiotemporal metadata necessary for genetic biodiversity surveillance. Labor-intensive scouring of a subset of published papers yielded geospatial coordinates and collection years for only 39% (51% if place names were considered) of these genomic datasets. Streamlined data input processes, updated metadata deposition policies, and enhanced scientific community awareness are urgently needed to preserve these irreplaceable records of today’s genetic biodiversity and to plug the growing metadata gap.
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Importance of timely metadata curation to the global surveillance of genetic diversity
Genetic diversity within species represents a fundamental yet underappreciated level of biodiversity. Because genetic diversity can indicate species resilience to changing climate, its measurement is relevant to many national and global conservation policy targets. Many studies produce large amounts of genome‐scale genetic diversity data for wild populations, but most (87%) do not include the associated spatial and temporal metadata necessary for them to be reused in monitoring programs or for acknowledging the sovereignty of nations or Indigenous peoples. We undertook a distributed datathon to quantify the availability of these missing metadata and to test the hypothesis that their availability decays with time. We also worked to remediate missing metadata by extracting them from associated published papers, online repositories, and direct communication with authors. Starting with 848 candidate genomic data sets (reduced representation and whole genome) from the International Nucleotide Sequence Database Collaboration, we determined that 561 contained mostly samples from wild populations. We successfully restored spatiotemporal metadata for 78% of these 561 data sets (
- Award ID(s):
- 1764316
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10401185
- Author(s) / Creator(s):
- ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; more »
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley-Blackwell
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Conservation Biology
- Volume:
- 37
- Issue:
- 4
- ISSN:
- 0888-8892
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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