Scientists launch plan to map genes of all complex life on earth

The EBP is expected to cost $4.7 billion and "will ultimately create a new foundation for biology to drive solutions for preserving biodiversity and sustaining human societies," said Harris Lewin, a professor at the University of California in the United States and chair of the EBP. "Having the roadmap, the blueprints ... will be a tremendous resource for new discoveries, understanding the rules of life, how evolution works, new approaches for the conservation of rare and endangered species, and ... new resources for researchers in agricultural and medical fields," he told a briefing in London. This plan will draw in major research efforts from across the world, including a U.S.-led project aiming to sequence the genetic code of all 66,000 vertebrates, a Chinese project to sequence 10,000 plant genomes, and the Global Ant Genomes Alliance, which aims to sequence around 200 ant genomes.