Wytham Woods helping sequence genome of every UK species

There are some 66,000 plant, animal, microbe and fungus species in the UK, and over the next decade the aim is to sample genetic material from them all. This is the UK contribution to an even bigger effort to sequence the DNA of all 1.5 million complex-celled lifeforms on Earth.

The knowledge the project provides will help protect and restore the UK’s enormous variety of natural life and will transform scientists’ understanding of how ecosystems work.

Wytham is an ideal place for this kind of science – it is home to a huge variety of species and we know a great deal about them after decades of study.