New tracker for Australia’s genomic biodiversity

July 28th, 2025

A world-first tool is tracking Australia’s progress in sequencing the full genomes – or genetic blueprints – of the country’s 250,000-plus known and catalogued species.

Launched today, Genome Tracker reveals that only two per cent of Australia’s known and catalogued species have had their genome sequenced at least once.

The online dashboard is part of the Australian Reference Genome Atlas (ARGA), a platform delivered through the Atlas of Living Australia, Bioplatforms Australia, Australian BioCommons and the Australian Research Data Commons.

CSIRO’s Dr Kathryn Hall, ARGA project lead, said Genome Tracker is a step change in how genomic data coverage can be tracked, assessed and prioritised.

‘Whole genome sequencing for plants and animals provides insights for ecology, conservation biology, agriculture and biosecurity,’ she explained. ‘It lets us peer back through evolutionary time to understand how species have adapted to the unique landscapes of Australia.

‘Genome Tracker clearly shows which parts of the family tree of life have strong representation and which are under-sequenced or entirely missing. It helps researchers map existing genomic coverage and highlights under-represented areas for research.’