Abstract
The Earth BioGenome Project (EBP) is an audacious endeavor to obtain whole genome sequences of representatives from all eukaryotic species on earth. In addition to the Project’s technical and organizational challenges, it also faces complicated ethical, legal, and social issues. This paper, from members of the EBP’s Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues (ELSI) Committee, catalogs these ELSI concerns arising from EBP. While we do not— and cannot—provide simple, overarching solutions for all of the issues raised here, we conclude our Perspective by beginning to chart a path forward for EBP’s work.
Highlights
The Earth BioGenome Project (EBP) is an audacious endeavor, an attempt to obtain whole-genome sequences from specimens of every eukaryotic species on Earth—land, sea, sky, or underground
This paper, from members of the EBP’s Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues (ELSI) Committee, catalogs these ELSI concerns arising from EBP
“[i]f successful, the EBP will completely transform our scientific understanding of life on earth and provide new resources to cope with the rapid loss of biodiversity and habitat changes that are primarily due to human activities and climate change” [2]
Summary
The Earth BioGenome Project (EBP) is an audacious endeavor, an attempt to obtain whole-genome sequences from specimens of every eukaryotic species on Earth—land, sea, sky, or underground. This paper, from members of the EBP’s Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues (ELSI) Committee, catalogs these ELSI concerns arising from EBP.
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