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We are inviting the global genomics community to support the Tree of Life programme by assessing Genome Notes published in the Tree of Life Gateway on Wellcome Open Research. 

Read on as Rebecca Grant, Head of Data & Software Publishing at F1000, explains how PhD students, Early Career Researchers (ECRs), and all genomics experts can get involved in this exciting initiative.

About the Tree of Life Gateway 

The Tree of Life Gateway is an open publishing hub for the Darwin Tree of Life, Aquatic Symbiosis Genomics, and 25 Genomes for 25 years projects, centered at the Wellcome Sanger Institute. Already home to more than 60 articles, over time the Gateway will publish thousands of Genome Notes, describing genome sequences from the animals, plants, fungi, and micro-organisms that live on and around Britain and Ireland (via Darwin Tree of Life), and hundreds of Genome Notes describing sequences of symbiotic freshwater and marine species from around the world (via the Aquatic Symbiosis projects).

A new approach for the genomics community 

This project represents an innovative, streamlined approach to contextualizing genome sequences using a new article type called a Genome Note, to produce and publish content automatically, at speed.   

The articles themselves are short, peer reviewed articles which explain:

• The origins of ethically sourced samples used for sequencing 
• The methods used to generate the sequence 
• The quality of the genome sequences (through statistics and interactive figures) 

Supported by the Open Data policy upheld by the Wellcome Open Research platform, all Genome Notes will provide genomic information that will be discoverable and reusable for all.  

Peer review innovation: automated review and community review 

Genome Notes will undergo an innovative quality control process, with the sequences being subject to automated review and community review. 

Automated review: Each Genome Note will have a review summarizing the genome completeness. This is data generated at the Sanger Institute and will be part of the received Genome Note metadata. The review will show key genome quality and completeness metrics, and provide a link to more data for the readers. This type of review is based on the sequencing data generated and will be available alongside the article upon publication. 

Community review: Genomics experts will carry out any other required aspect of peer review. They will verify the automated review and assess how complete the genome sequence is. This community review will not be as burdensome as a traditional review and will rely on a set of questions. Reviewers can also provide their opinion and further context if they see fit.

How can you help? 

Join our pool of peer reviewers! We encourage all genomics researchers, including PhD students and ECRs, to get involved. We are asking the worldwide community to join our group of peer reviewers – it is only through collaboration that this project can succeed. 

This is an exciting opportunity to get involved in a unique project within the genomics community – and as with all articles on Wellcome Open Research, your review will be published fully openly, so you get the credit you deserve for your work.  Participating as a Community Reviewer is a particularly good way for Early Career Researchers (ECRs) and PhD students to sharpen their reviewing skills and get more involved with research communication. 

 If you are interested in joining the Tree of Life community reviewer group, please sign up here, or contact us at info@wellcomeopenresearch.org.