IMIS

The Ocean Genome Legacy was created to develop the science and practice of genome conservation and to promote genome-enabled approaches to species and ecosystem conservation and research. To achieve this goal, OGL has created the Ocean Genome Resource (OGR), a comprehensive, publicly accessible genome biorepository. The OGR is a bank of annotated and validated samples of genomic DNA and DNA-containing tissues representing a broad cross section of the diversity of life in the oceans. As this collection grows, it will become an incomparable and unprecedented knowledge base and research tool with tremendous value for revealing the origins of life, understanding and protecting marine species and ecosystems, and facilitating critical medical, biological, industrial, and agricultural research. It will provide access to, and promote sharing of, genomic materials that might otherwise be difficult, expensive, and ecologically damaging to collect. It will foster communication among researchers and speed research progress by helping to connect authenticated genetic materials with critical experimental and field observations. In summary, banking the genomic diversity of the oceans will allow scientists to make the best use of this precious resource to protect the environment, cure disease, and improve the sustainability of global food and energy supplies.