The African DSI DataBank: Uncovering African Plant Genomic Resources for Synthetic Biology
How can African biodiversity data become a more accessible resource for plant research and biotechnology, and what infrastructure is needed to make that possible?
Africa is home to rich plant biodiversity and valuable genomic resources with significant potential for research, crop improvement and biotechnology. Yet access to and effective use of these data remain important challenges. This presentation introduces the African DSI DataBank, a pioneering African biodiversity genomics platform developed and maintained by the African BioGenome Project (AfricaBP) to improve access to African biodiversity sequence data.
Using examples of African plant genomes, the presentation will explore how accessible genomic resources can support comparative genomics, the discovery of genes and biological pathways, and future synthetic biology applications. It will also consider the importance of African-led data infrastructure in enabling researchers to translate biodiversity data into scientific knowledge and practical innovations.
About the speaker
Sarah Chidi Ihenko is a Nigerian plant scientist and MPhil researcher in Biological Sciences (Crop Science) at the University of Cambridge, UK, where her research interests include genetics, genomics, bioinformatics and epigenetics. She is Co-chair of the West African Open Institute for Genomics and Bioinformatics of the African BioGenome Project (AfricaBP) and a member of the Outreach Thematic Area of the African DSI DataBank. Her work includes supporting genomic data infrastructure, platform development, scientific communication and regional capacity-building activities.
She holds a First Class BSc in Plant Science and Biotechnology from the University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria, and is interested in applying computational approaches and genomic resources to plant research and crop improvement.