Animal Disease Genomics Initiative – Request for Partnership 2026

Mar 24, 2026 | Agriculture and Food, Biodiversity and Environment

REQUEST FOR PARTNERSHIP GUIDELINES

BACKGROUND

Animal diseases continue to pose a growing threat to Australia’s agriculture, biosecurity, and public health. Climate change, land use change, global trade, and increased movement of people, livestock, and wildlife are intensifying the risk of outbreaks and the introduction of new pests and pathogens. While Australia maintains a strong animal health system, there is rising pressure to uphold disease-free status and respond rapidly to established and emerging threats. At the same time, more than 75% of new human diseases over the past three decades have originated in animals, highlighting the close link between animal and human health.

Molecular techniques like genomics are essential for improving our understanding and management of animal diseases. High-quality reference data on known and novel pathogens and parasites is critical for disease preparedness, surveillance, and control. 

AIMS OF THE AUSTRALIAN ANIMAL DISEASE GENOMICS INITIATIVE 

In collaboration with the animal health community, The Australian Animal Disease Genomics Initiative will generate foundational genomic data for priority animal pathogens and parasites, supporting national efforts in disease understanding, detection, surveillance, and control.


The initiative will support projects under two thematic aims:

  1. Reference Genome Library – Build a collection of high-quality, openly available genomes for key animal pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and parasites.
  2. Animal Virome Atlas – Use metagenomic sequencing to map the diversity and ecology of viruses across animal populations and environments.

Data types supported:

  • Long- and short-read genomes
  • Population genomics (via whole-genome resequencing)
  • Transcriptomics
  • Metagenomic sequencing (for Animal Virome Atlas theme)
  • Proteomics and metabolomics may also be supported where they enhance outcomes.

Request for Partnership 2026

We are now calling for Request for Partnership for projects aiming to generate high-quality reference data that will enhance the aims and goals of the Australian Animal Disease Genomics Initiative.

Project support available:

The Initiative offers support for sequencing, data storage and management, and access to compute and analysis tools via the Australian BioCommons. We also facilitate training, collaborations, and partnerships to help project teams address skill or knowledge gaps.

To ensure we can support a range of projects, sequencing support will be capped at approximately $30,000 per project. This is provided as a voucher to access sequencing services at a Bioplatforms facility. We may adjust this for projects involving large or complex genomes.

Indicative sequencing costs:

The following estimates are provided as a guide to help applicants design projects that fit within the funding cap.

Reference genome sequencing: Costs vary widely depending on genome size and sequencing technology. Applicants proposing reference genomes are encouraged to contact the Program Manager or one of the Bioplatforms sequencing facilities for guidance before submission.

Animal virome metagenomics: Approximate sequencing costs are:

  • $395 per library for 50M reads
  • $503 per library for 100M reads

Additional guidance for applicants

Projects that are most competitive under this initiative typically seek to generate genomic resources for species/hosts that currently have limited representation in public repositories and address species/hosts that lack coordinated genomic programs or national datasets.

Contact us if you would like help shaping your proposal before submission.

Co-contributions

Project teams are responsible for:

  • Project design
  • Sample provision, preparation (DNA extraction etc), shipping and supply of metadata
  • Assembling, annotating, and/or analysing sequence data (with compute and workflow support from the Initiative if needed)
  • Publishing results, submitting data to a suitable repository, and applying findings

This is an Open Data Collaboration

Data generated through this initiative will be subject to the Australian Animal Disease Genomics Initiative Data and Collaboration Policy. Please review the full policy before submitting your proposal.

A summary of this Policy is provided below:

  • Sample metadata must be provided in a standardised format (a template will be provided) to ensure data integrity and reusability for future use.
  • The sequencing facility will transfer sequence data to the Bioplatforms Australia Data Portal, where it will be shared only with your team for QC, vetting for sensitive information and analysis. This data will be under a 12-month embargo period to provide your team primary access and first right of publication.
  • Analysed/derived data must be deposited in a publicly accessible repository or back to the Bioplatforms Data Portal if the former is not possible, within a year of receiving your raw sequence data, unless otherwise agreed by the project partners and Bioplatforms Australia.
  • If, during or after an embargo period, a Project Team considers data to be sensitive, they may request that the embargo be extended or that specific data be held privately while appropriate external processes are followed. Bioplatforms will act in good faith to support responsible data sharing, guided by the advice of Project Teams and collaborators.
  • All data will be licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0).

To submit a partnership proposal:

  • Submit all Requests for Partnership using the online form at the following link: https://forms.gle/2hHzirs2mjENxoQT9
  • This form will remain editable until the deadline. Please log in to update your responses. If you submit multiple versions, please contact us to remove duplicates.
  • Each project lead may submit up to two projects.
  • Sequencing cost estimates are part of the review process. This is based on the technology and sample numbers provided in the application form. Sequencing cost estimates are provided by Bioplatforms facilities. 
  • Complete and submit one form per species of interest. If you are aware of other groups working on your species of interest, we encourage you to collaborate and submit a single proposal.
  • Please provide an estimated/known genome size and ploidy (where prompted) to assist with the proposal review and cost estimate.
  • NOTE: This is not a grant application. The Animal Disease Genomics Initiative aims to support all projects that align with its objectives, within the limits of our available budget. Samples for sequencing and other omics experiments should be provided within 12 months of project acceptance.

Deadline: COB Friday, 1st May 2026

Contact information:

Mabel Lum, Program Manager, mlum@bioplatforms.com, 0435 387 007 

Sarah Richmond, General Manager – Science Program, srichmond@bioplatforms.com, 0411 790 475