On Sept. 4, 2025, a global collaboration that includes experts at the Wellcome Sanger Institute announced mapping out the second phase of its ambitious plan to sequence all 1.67 million known species on Earth by 2035. Achieving this will require sequencing 3,000 new genomes per month — more than 10 times faster than current rates.

The Earth BioGenome Project (EBP), a global network of scientists sequencing the genomes of Earth’s eukaryotes, set out this next stage in Frontiers in Science.

EBP consists of a growing network of more than 2,200 scientists across 88 countries, including local and Indigenous research communities. Their goal is to create a digital library of DNA sequences that will help researchers find new ways to preserve and protect life on Earth and tackle rapid environmental change. This includes supporting research that could help assure food security, advance medicine and agriculture research, and drive a deeper global understanding of biodiversity to support conservation and pandemic prevention.

Global DNA sequencing for this project began in 2020, with the Wellcome Sanger Institute being involved from the beginning. Of the 1.67 million known species of animal, plant, fungi, and protists, just 1 per cent have been genetically sequenced so far.

By the end of 2024, EBP-affiliated projects had published 1,667 genomes covering more than 500 eukaryotic families. Network researchers also contributed a further 1,798 genomes, bringing the total number of publicly available genomes to 3,465.

These data have illuminated the origins and evolution of life on Earth, and the role of genetic diversity in species’ ability to adapt to change. For example, they have helped reveal how the Svalbard reindeer adapted to Arctic conditions, and how chromosomes evolved in butterflies and moths. The project’s research methods are also helping to improve tools such as environmental DNA (eDNA), which uncovers new lifeforms through the genetic footprints they leave behind.

Building on Phase one, the second phase aims to sequence 150,000 species — half of all known genera — within four years. It will prioritise species that are important to ecosystem health, food security, pandemic control, conservation, Indigenous peoples and local communities. It also aims to collect 300,000 samples, around half of which will form the basis of Phase three.