UK Barcode of Life: 2025 project update (NECR731)

DNA-based methods, such as barcoding, offer significant opportunities for environmental monitoring of difficult-to-detect species, yet their routine application is limited by gaps in reference libraries, with roughly half of UK eukaryote species lacking data. As part of the Defra DNA Centre of Excellence, Natural England is addressing this barrier through the continuation of the UK Barcode of Life (UKBOL) project. During 2024/25, the project progressed in barcoding priority species by collecting and databasing 1,837 specimens across 1,200 species, with 1,085 specimens from 696 species sequenced and added to the Barcode of Life Data System (BOLD), including Wyre Forest BioBlitz specimens and genome-skimmed museum materials. Furthermore, the UKBOL data portal was migrated to NHM’s Kubernetes cluster to enable continuous gap analysis of UKSI species, cross-referenced with the PANTHEON database to support biodiversity monitoring.