CBD Distr. GENERAL CBD/SBSTTA/22/INF/3 CBD/DSI/AHTEG/2018/1/3 12 January 2018 ENGLISH ONLY AD HOC TECHNICAL EXPERT GROUP ON SUBSIDIARY BODY ON SCIENTIFIC, DIGITAL SEQUENCE INFORMATION ON TECHNICAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL GENETIC RESOURCES ADVICE Montreal, Canada, 13-16 February 2018 Twenty-second meeting Item 3 of the provisional agenda** Montreal, Canada, 2-7 July 2018 Item 3 of the provisional agenda*** FACT-FINDING AND SCOPING STUDY ON DIGITAL SEQUENCE INFORMATION ON GENETIC RESOURCES IN THE CONTEXT OF THE CONVENTION ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY AND THE NAGOYA PROTOCOL Note by the Executive Secretary 1. In decision XIII/16, paragraph 3(b), the Executive Secretary was requested to commission a fact-finding and scoping study, subject to the availability of funds, to clarify terminology and concepts and to assess the extent and the terms and conditions of the use of digital sequence information on genetic resources in the context of the Convention and the Nagoya Protocol. 2. Accordingly, the Executive Secretary commissioned a research team led by Ms. Sarah Laird of People and Plants International and Ms. Rachel Wynberg of the University of Cape Town, to carry out this study. The study was undertaken with the generous financial support of Canada, the European Union and Switzerland. 3. A draft of the study was made available online for peer review from 8 November to 1 December 2017. 1 The comments received in response have been made available online.2 The research team revised the study in the light of the comments received and the final version is presented below in the form and language in which it was received by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Any views expressed in the study are those of the authors or the sources cited in the study and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Secretariat of the Convention. 4. It may also be noted that the study and the synthesis of views that the Executive Secretary was requested to prepare pursuant to decision XIII/16, paragraph 3(a), are distinct but complementary documents. Specifically, the role of the synthesis document was to capture the range of views and information presented through the submissions while the study was meant to address the aspects identified in decision XIII/16, paragraph 3(b). * Reissued for technical reasons on 23 May 2018. ** CBD/DSI/AHTEG/2018/1/1. *** CBD/SBSTTA/22/1. 1 See notification 2017-115 of 8 November 2017. 2 See https://www.cbd.int/abs/dsi-gr/ahteg.shtml#peerreview. CBD/SBSTTA/22/INF/3 CBD/DSI/AHTEG/2018/1/3 Page 2 A Fact-Finding and Scoping Study on Digital Sequence Information on Genetic Resources in the Context of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Nagoya Protocol 10 January 2018 Sarah A. Laird and Rachel P. Wynberg, with contributions from Arash Iranzadeh and Anna Sliva Kooser CBD/SBSTTA/22/INF/3 CBD/DSI/AHTEG/2018/1/3 Page 3 Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...............................................................................................................8 1. INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................................. 18 2. TERMINOLOGY .............................................................................................................. 19 2.1 Exploring Terminology within Scientific and Policy Circles...................................... 20 3. THE USE OF DIGITAL SEQUENCE INFORMATION ...................................................... 22 3.1. How is digital sequence information produced, and by whom? .................................. 23 3.2. How is digital sequence information used and by whom? .......................................... 23 3.2.1. Synthetic biology research .......................................................................... 24 3.2.2. Industrial biotechnology ............................................................................. 25 3.2.3. Healthcare biotechnology............................................................................ 25 3.2.4. Agriculture ................................................................................................ 26 3.2.5. Community laboratories, DIYbio, and open science...................................... 26 4. HOW DIGITAL SEQUENCE INFORMATION IS ACCESSED, STORED AND MANAGED....................................................................................................................... 27 4.1. Public Databases .................................................................................................... 28 4.1.1. The International Nucleotide Sequence Database Collaboration..................... 28 4.1.2. Increase in data flow and use....................................................................... 30 4.1.3. Standards for digital sequence information sharing and compatibility between databases ...................................................................................... 31 5. GENERATION OF “NEW” DIGITAL SEQUENCE INFORMATION FROM PHYSICAL SAMPLES ...................................................................................................... 32 5.1. Field collections and citizen science ........................................................................ 32 5.2. Biological-to-Digital: Advances in ‘reading’ DNA ................................................... 33 5.3. DNA Synthesis and Digital-to-Biological Converters: Advances in ’writing’ DNA ..................................................................................................................... 34 5.4. Ex situ Collections ................................................................................................. 34 6. TOOLS TO MANAGE DIGITAL SEQUENCE INFORMATION: CONDITIONS OF USE NOTICES AND USER AGREEMENTS ..................................................................... 36 6.1. Conditions of use notices ........................................................................................ 36 6.2. Open source and user agreements ............................................................................ 37 7. DIGITAL SEQUENCE INFORMATION, BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION, AND SUSTAINABLE USE ........................................................................................................ 39 7.1. Biodiversity Conservation ....................................................................................... 39 7.1.1. Identification and characterization of biodiversity......................................... 39 7.1.2. Conservation genetics and genomics: understanding genetic variability in populations ................................................................................................ 40 CBD/SBSTTA/22/INF/3 CBD/DSI/AHTEG/2018/1/3 Page 4 7.1.3. Invasive species ......................................................................................... 41 7.1.4. Understanding pollinators ........................................................................... 41 7.1.5. Monitoring environmental change ............................................................... 41 7.1.6. Ex situ conservation ................................................................................... 41 7.2. Sustainable Use ...................................................................................................... 42 7.2.1. Tracking trade and wildlife trafficking ......................................................... 42 7.2.2. Developing new crops, and minimizing genetic erosion ................................ 42 7.2.3. Pathogens and health emergencies ............................................................... 42 7.3. Conservation and sustainable use implications of technologies that use digital sequence information.............................................................................................. 42 7.3.1. Potential positive impacts of technologies associated with digital sequence information.................................................................................. 43 7.3.2. Potential negative impacts of technologies associated with digital sequence information.................................................................................. 43 8. DIGITAL SEQUENCE INFORMATION, FAIR AND EQUITABLE BENEFIT-SHARING, AND THE NAGOYA PROTOCOL .................................................. 44 8.1. Non-monetary benefits ........................................................................................... 45 8.1.1. Wider accessibility of databases, knowledge, and technology ........................ 45 8.1.2. Technology transfer, capacity-building, and collaboration ............................. 47 8.1.3. Research directed at priority public needs .................................................... 48 8.2. Monetary benefits................................................................................................... 48 8.2.1. Determining the value of digital sequence information.................................. 49 8.3. Challenges and opportunities for benefit sharing....................................................... 52 8.3.1. Identification of contributors, users and provenance...................................... 52 8.3.2. Monitoring the Use of Digital Sequence Information .................................... 54 8.3.3. Distinguishing between non-commercial and commercial research ................ 56 9. CONCLUSION.................................................................................................................. 57 ANNEXES ...................................................................................................................................