Projects

As the prevalence and volume of sequence data in the life sciences has grown exponentially, the question of how to address benefit-sharing from this so-called digital sequence information (DSI) has arisen. In a landmark agreement for conservation, the Global Biodiversity Framework, also put a process on the development of a new multilateral mechanism for benefit-sharing under the  Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) into motion. Because the research community is the main provider and user of sequence data, it is crucial that their voices and hand-on experiences are heard as policy is developed. The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) has funded an interdisciplinary project called “Wissenschaftsbasierte Lösungsansätze für Digitale Sequenzinformation (DSI) (WiLDSI)” or, in English, “Science-based approaches for digital sequence information”.

In the first project from 2019-2020, we identified policy approaches that protect the sequencing community’s tradition of open sharing, support global research innovation, and ensure fair, sustainable benefit sharing for the countries of origin. The full report is available here.
In a second project from 2021-2023, our work on DSI continues. In particular, the DSI Scientific Network continues to grow and bring an international perspective on DSI benefit-sharing issues.

The European Virus Archive (EVA-GLOBAL) is a globally distributed research infrastructure composed of 38 academic institutions at the forefront of human, animal and plant virological research. Its worldwide distribution of virus isolates, derivatives and reagents requires high-quality control standards and validated standard operational procedures in all partner institutions. Services and products are offered through the centralized EVA catalogue, but decentralized biobanking and database infrastructures enable the conservation of a wide variety of viral isolates. EVA GLOBAL is a well-recognized entity by global health organizations (e.g. WHO; World Organization for Animal Health, and the Food and Agriculture Organization) due to its significant participation in supporting pandemic response efforts during the Chikunguya, Influenza A–H1N1, MERS-Coronavirus, Ebola, Zika and the current SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks.

The DSMZ leads a work package on Nagoya Protocol compliance, DSI, and regulatory issues across the EVA GLOBAL consortium. Through the development of a Nagoya Protocol (NP) compliance strategy, the consortium aims to ensure that genetic material offered through the EVA GLOBAL catalogue will be compliant with the Nagoya Protocol and EU regulation No 511/2014 (EU ABS regulation). This is a voluntary and proactive effort, as collections themselves are not legally required to be “Nagoya compliant” because the act of collecting and storing genetic resources it not “utilization” as defined under the EU ABS regulation. The commitment from EVA partners will greatly improve the usability and legal certainty of the viruses and products in the EVA catalogue for end users in the EU and beyond.

The German Nagoya Protocol HuB, or GNP HuB for short, stands for “Hilfe und Beratung” (“help and guidance” in English). This project aims to help academic researchers in Germany with understanding understanding their obligations arising from the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol.  We provide information about access and benefit-sharing (ABS) in countries that provide biological material (“genetic resources”) for research and researchers’ compliance obligations in Germany.

DSMZ is the host and project lead for the HuB and worked closely with project partners at the Consortium of German Natural Science Collections (DNFS), the German Life Sciences Association (VBIO), and the Leibniz Resarch Alliance for Biodiversity (LVB) during the first funding phase of the project. The project was financed from 2020-2022 through the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (Bundesamt für Naturschutz, BfN) with funds from the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety (BMU).