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Genomics has revolutionised the field of medicine over the last 5-10 years and is now fundamentally changing what is possible in agriculture. The goal of the Environomics Future Science Platform is to develop the capability to apply genomics to questions in environmental science.
This is a challenging prospect due to the sheer number of species and diversity of ecosystems involved. However, if we can be successful, the potential gains in our knowledge and ability to manage our unique Australian ecosystems will be profound.
Note: Within the context of CSIRO’s organisation, the Australian National Herbarium has now moved into a new management unit called ‘National Research Collections Australia’, which also includes the National Insect Collection, Wildlife Collection, Fish Collection and the Atlas of Living Australia.
Andrew Young has been appointed head of the National Research Collections, with Linda Broadhurst managing the Herbarium.
A few months ago Andrew Young and his team successfully bid for a significant new funding initiative within CSIRO, ‘Genomics for the Environment’, which will be relevant to all the research collections, including the Herbarium.