Funding period: 2011–2016
Participating departments and agencies: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, National Research Council of Canada, Natural Resources Canada
Leads: André Lévesque and Patrice Bouchard, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Total GRDI funding: $7,730,689
The quarantine and invasive species project involved 29 scientists and their teams from 6 departments and agencies and 285 collaborators. It developed faster and more accurate ways to detect, identify and trace the origin of quarantine and invasive species. These species have the potential to cause millions of dollars in economic losses and irreversible environmental damage. The project's innovative DNA extraction protocols and extensive reference database of DNA barcodes improve regulatory and policy decisions to secure access to global markets and ease the regulatory burden for Canadian producers.
Highlights
- Five-year collaboration
- Twenty-nine scientists and their teams
- Six federal departments and agencies
Key achievements
- Extensive reference database of DNA barcodes of more than 90% of Canadian species with quarantine status
- Standard operating protocols for DNA extraction, barcoding and next generation sequencing transferred to end users
Benefits
- Faster, more accurate and more cost-effective detection of species that could have irreversible effects on Canada's environment and economy
- Improved protection from major trade disruption
Success stories
- Advances in genomics technologies create opportunities—and some challenges
- Aphid database already at work for strawberry growers
- Genomics reinforces value of historic collections
- Old DNA the foundation for new identification technologies
- Tsunami shows invasive species travel in surprising ways
- Accelerating innovation in Canada's fruit industry
- Using DNA bar codes to tell friend from foe