Establishment
The Cephalopod Sequencing Consortium (CephSeq Consortium) was established at a NESCent Catalysis Group Meeting, “Paths to Cephalopod Genomics- Strategies, Choices, Organization,” held in Durham, North Carolina, USA on May 24-27, 2012. Twenty-eight participants from around the world met to address the need for genome sequencing of cephalopods. This group, including cephalopod biologists, neuroscientists, developmental and evolutionary biologists, materials scientists, bioinformaticians and researchers active in sequencing, assembling and annotating genomes, agreed on a set of cephalopod species of particular importance for initial sequencing and developed strategies and an organization (CephSeq Consortium) to promote this sequencing.
Organizational Structure
Establishment of a Steering Committee was agreed upon at the May 2012 NESCent Catalysis Group Meeting. The composition of the committee was initially set at seven members, with broad international representation of cephalopod biologists, genomicists, and bioinformaticians. The Committee will initially meet every 4 months, either in person, or remotely, or both. The Steering Committee is charged with providing international oversight of the community's activities, fostering the free-flow of information among CephSeq Consortium members (see Data Sharing Plan), promoting collaborations, and ensuring that the CephSeq Consortium remains focused on the Mission Statement objectives set forth above. The Steering Committee will also work to facilitate community-wide efforts to annotate assembled genomes.
Mission Statement
The vision of the Cephalopod Sequencing Consortium is rapid advancement of cephalopod science into the genomics era, one employing the most modern and efficient methods available and engaging broad international participation by the entire cephalopod scientific community. This vision entails communication and active promotion of sequencing technologies and findings to researchers across a great diversity of fields. Bioinformatics experts initially outside of cephalopod biology will participate with cephalopod researchers in this effort. The Consortium will help facilitate funding endeavors by individuals and groups by providing basic summary documents (e.g. White Papers, letters of support) that describe the current state and consensus goals of cephalopod genomics efforts worldwide.
In addition to promoting and accelerating scientific progress, the CephSeq Consortium aims to translate the contributions of cephalopod science to society at large by encouraging applied science in fields as diverse as fisheries science, material science and biomedical research. Education and outreach will be emphasized for broad dissemination of progress in cephalopod genomics at multiple levels, including K-12, undergraduate and graduate students, and the public at large.
The White Paper
The White Paper was recently published in Standards in Genomic Sciences. To view a copy of the White Paper recently published, click here.
This white paper discusses the conclusions and recommendations that resulted from the meeting in May The group of individuals present included cephalopod biologists, neuroscientists, developmental and evolutionary biologists, bioinformaticians, and researchers.