Harmonising Aquatic Biobanking for FAIR Data
As part of the eDNAqua-Plan project, we conducted a technical survey to assess the digital maturity and interoperability readiness of European biobanks and culture collections. This effort is critical to ensuring that physical biodiversity specimens—such as vouchers and strains—are seamlessly linked with their derived molecular data, from sample preservation to data publication.
This document presents the findings and strategic recommendations from the survey, offering a roadmap for harmonising aquatic biobanking operations across Europe. By aligning with FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable), this work ensures that biodiversity resources are optimised for genomic research and long-term usability.
Key insights
The survey evaluated the current capacity of European biobanks and culture collections to:
- Link physical specimens with their associated molecular data (e.g., sequences, metadata)
- Standardise workflows from sample preservation to data publication, ensuring consistency and reproducibility
- Adopt FAIR principles to enhance data accessibility, interoperability, and reusability for research and policy applications
The findings serve as a blueprint for improving digital infrastructure in aquatic biobanking, including:
- Recommendations for workflow harmonisation (e.g., sample tracking, metadata standards)
- Guidance on integrating physical and digital resources to support genomic research and biodiversity monitoring
- Actionable steps to ensure compliance with FAIR principles, enabling cross-border collaboration and data sharing
This document is a valuable resource for biobank managers, researchers, and policymakers working to modernise aquatic biobanking and align it with eDNAqua-Plan’s vision of a digital ecosystem for biodiversity data.