About the i5k Initiative
Vision
As members of the global genomics community, ensure that all insect and other arthropod scientists have access to reference-quality insect and arthropod genomes, and the information needed to perform the highest quality science with these genomes.
Mission
- Promote best practices for genomic research projects;
- Support generation, access, analysis, visualization, and understanding of genomic AND post-genomic data
- Present recommendations to fundholders for the support needed to provide new opportunities for arthropod genomics in addressing fundamental research questions.
Who we are
We are members of the global genomics community who are passionate about insect genomes, best practices in genomics, and data sharing. If you want to contribute to our mission and vision, please join us!
Working Groups
Executive Committee
Monica Poelchau, Sue Brown, Brad Coates, Marc Halfon, Duane McKenna
- Guides i5k’s general direction and governance
Community Building and Outreach
- Coordinates conferences and special symposium
- Manages outreach on social media platforms
- Responds to community requests
Genome Project Coordination
- Coordinates genome project submission to GoaT
- Advocates for enhancements to GoaT and implements mechanisms for the status of all arthropod genome projects from the i5k Community to be reported on GoaT under the i5k Initiative’s umbrella, while clearly crediting the effort to the research group or lab responsible for the project
Standards
- Curates guidance on genome project standards and best practices
- Evaluates gaps in standards and best practices, especially those impacting arthropod research
- Advocates for standards and best practices that enable success by recognizing the challenges and special considerations needed for some arthropod species
Training
- Coordinates and curates training modules based on the needs of the i5k Community
Affiliated Projects
Arthropod genome assemblies and associated data can be accessed, visualized, curated and disseminated through many community genome databases and portals.
Data associated with the i5k Initiative is archived under the BioProject PRJNA163993.
 Earth BioGenome Project | The goal of the Earth BioGenome Project (EBP) is to generate or collect at least one high-quality reference genome assembly of all named eukaryotic species, and to utilize those genomes to address fundamental questions in biology, disease, and conservation. The i5k Initiative, Ag100Pest Initiative, Beenome100 Project, and GAGA are EBP-affiliated projects. BioProject PRJNA533106 |
 i5k Workspace@NAL | The i5k Workspace@NAL is a platform for communities around ‘orphaned’ arthropod genome projects to access, visualize, curate and disseminate their data. |
 Ag100Pest Initiative | The Ag100Pest Initiative aims to to generate reference-quality genome assemblies for the top 100 US agricultural pest arthropod species. Arthropod pests of US field crops, livestock, bees, trees, rangeland and stored products as well as foreign pest species considered potential invasive threats to US agriculture are included. Ag100Pest is led by the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service. BioProject PRJNA555319 *Photo by WanderingMogwai, CC BY-SA 4.0 |
 Beenome100 Project | The Beenome100 project is a collaborative effort that aims to sequence 100+ reference quality genomes for bees, focusing on species that occur in the United States of America. Species have been selected based on taxonomic diversity, geographic area, conservation status, agricultural importance, biological diversity, and other factors. The data will be used to improve knowledge of U.S. bees at the genomic level and to facilitate research in bee management, health, and conservation. The project is being led by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS). BioProject PRJNA923301 |
 GAGA | The Global Ant Genomics Alliance (GAGA) is generating high-quality annotated ant genomes to build a comprehensive dataset of the genomic diversity of the world’s ant genera. Through comparative analysis of these data, GAGA aims to understand global trends of ant evolution and narrow down the genetic features that have been particularly relevant for the diversification and astonishing evolutionary success of ants. *Photo by Stephen Ausmus, currated by the USDA ARS Image Gallery, is in the Public Domain |
 i5k Pilot Project | The i5k Pilot Project sequenced 28 species with the support of the Baylor College of Medicine Human Genome Sequencing Center. These species were selected from 787 community nominations. BioProject PRJNA163973 |
 1KITE | 1KITE, the 1000 Insect Transcriptome Evolution project, enabled transcriptomic analysis of 1,000 insect species encompassing all recognized insect orders. BioProject PRJNA183205 |
Learn more
Find out more through our publications, or by contacting us.
We need you!
Active participation of the international research community is essential for the success of this initiative. Check out the outreach page for opportunities to engage with the i5k Community and contact us to join a working group or help with other efforts.