Sharjah 24: The Environment and Protected Areas Authority in Sharjah (EPAA) announced the initiation of a series of training programmes for its employees within the "Genetic Barcoding" project that the EPAA launched with the goal of preparing specialized Emirati cadres in this field and establishing a solid scientific base that deals with the study and classification of living organisms and recording and genetically coding their data using DNA.

The "Genetic Barcoding" project is considered the first of its kind in the region
In this regard, Hana Saif Al Suwaidi, Chairperson of the Environment and Protected Areas Authority in Sharjah, said: "The 'Genetic Barcoding' project is considered the first of its kind in the region and comes within the context of implementing the EPAA's strategy to develop and apply plans and initiatives that contribute to enhancing sustainable development and preserving biodiversity in the UAE, through adopting and implementing specialized scientific, research, and training programmes aimed at localization and developing our scientific capabilities, qualifying them according to the best global practices, and eventually establishing the EPAA’s position to become the primary source and reference for environmental information and wildlife." She pointed out that in this regard, the authority is keen on intensifying and documenting efforts to coordinate and cooperate with government agencies, institutions, academic bodies, regional organizations, and research centers.

Hana Saif Al Suwaidi, mentioned that the Genetic Barcoding project is a specialised training programme aimed at achieving numerous practical outputs and results, one of the most important being the quick classification and identification of unknown species and the discovery of new species if they exist. It also ensures pharmaceutical and food security that depends on plants by establishing a precise definition of these plants and herbs used in the manufacture of various medicines and treatments, as well as in food industries including canned foods. She noted that the project will enable the EPAA's team to detect invasive or alien species early on in order to protect natural resources, in addition to monitoring the illegal trade of endangered species.

She continued by saying: "The project has been designed and built around two main pillars, the first of which is the study and classification of various living organisms in the emirate of Sharjah in particular, and in the country generally, including plants, mammals, reptiles, and insects in the Emirate of Sharjah and the UAE in general. The second pillar of the programme includes the recording of the data of these organisms and encoding them with a genetic system based on the use of sequential DNA, utilizing laboratories prepared by the authority to identify these living organisms. The aim at the end of the programme is for the EPAA's staff to accomplish the creation of a comprehensive and unified database for the genetic barcoding of these species."

In particular, the study and classification of various living organisms in the Emirate of Sharjah and generally throughout the state.

The Chairperson of the EPAA added that the plan for the programme includes providing the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) with information related to the assessment of red lists, contributing to the preparation and implementation of conservation plans for living organisms, and enabling easy and secure access for the scientific and research community to the data achieved by participants in this quality programme.

The programme is being implemented in several stages, starting with conducting field trips for the employees with the aim of collecting samples and tissues, followed by the process of DNA extraction and its amplification using PCR. This is succeeded by determining the DNA sequencing, in preparation for applying bioinformatics and analyzing the DNA sequencing to identify the species of living organisms, before depositing the genetic barcoding sequences into the databases, and eventually publishing the barcode data in the BOLD systems.

Regarding the results that the Genetic Barcoding project has achieved since its launch and the adoption of its practical programme by the Executive Council of the Emirate of Sharjah, the Chairperson of the Environment and Protected Areas Authority in Sharjah clarified that in collaboration with the experts of the authority's centers and within the first stage of the project concerning sample collection, the Biotechnology Laboratory received 265 animal samples and 974 local plant samples. In the year 2023, the laboratory received 143 reptile samples, 15 samples of freshwater fish, and 7 samples of amphibians. This was followed by the sorting of all these samples, labeling them, and preparing separate databases for each group, and preserving them, in preparation for their genetic barcoding during the current year 2024.

Regarding the local plant samples, she pointed out that the Biotechnology Laboratory started working on applying genetic barcoding through the Genetic Barcoding project for local plants in UAE since the establishment of the laboratory and the opening of the Seed Bank and Herbarium building in Dhaid in 2018. Over the past years, the laboratory collected 974 samples belonging to 325 plant species and established approximately 1764 genetic barcodes for three genetic markers: RBCL, ITS, and MATK.

It should be noted that genetic barcoding is a process of translating and converting genetic information stored in DNA into codes or groups of characters by using a set of base pairs that code for the amino acid sequence used in the construction and manufacture of proteins, which are considered the basic building blocks of life. This ensures the proper functioning of cells, the development of the organism, and the transmission of its hereditary traits from one generation to the next. The biological processes that are stimulated in living cells can be read when the genetic barcode is understood through kinetic, biological, and functional molecular insights, and this includes the use of computing, data analysis, and laboratory experiments.