Mapping the tree of life at cellular resolution.
The Biodiversity Cell Atlas (BCA) is a coordinated international effort aimed at molecularly characterizing cell types across the eukaryotic tree of life. Our mission is to pave the way for the efficient expansion of cell atlases to hundreds of species.
Why map cell types across eukaryotes?
Systematic single-cell atlasing across species have the potential of transformative discoveries in biotechnology, biomedicine, evolutionary biology, and environmental science. By contextualizing gene expression across cell types and organisms, cell atlases can uncover novel biology, support functional genome annotation, inform AI models, and facilitate biomonitoring of ecosystems — while opening doors to unexpected, interdisciplinary breakthroughs.
BCA aims at molecularly characterizing cell types across the eukaryotic tree of life.
Molecular profiles derived from single-cell transcriptomics (or other data modalities such as chromatin accessibility) capture the gene expression patterns of individual cells. By clustering similar cells, cell types and states can be identified and organized into hierarchies that reflect their molecular similiarities.
Towards solving technical challenges.
Several technical challenges contribute to explain the currently limited phylogenetic representation of single-cell atlases across eukaryotes. The BCA initiative must tackle these constraints to scale time-consuming species-specific optimizations and drive rapid expansion of cell atlases.
Funders
This project is funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation through Grant GBMF12189 to the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG).
