Cintia Povill, Silvia Britto Barreto, Izabela Santos Mendes, Danielle Luna-Lucena, Roberta Pacheco Damasceno, Ana Carolina D’Oliveira Pavan, Amanda Ferreira Vidal, Daniel Luis Zanella Kantek, Diego de Medeiros Bento, Emanuel Bruno Neuhaus, Gisele Lopes Nunes, Henrique Vieira Figueiró, Lara Gomes Côrtes, Luanne Helena Augusto Lima, Sibelle Torres Vilaça, Alexandre Aleixo, Amely Branquinho Martins

Biodiversity conservation, especially in megadiverse regions like Brazil, faces challenges that demand the implementation of innovative approaches. In this context, a partnership agreement was signed between the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio) and the Vale Institute ofTechnology (ITV), named GBB (Genomics of the Brazilian Biodiversity), aiming to develop genetic and genomic tools for the conservation, monitoring, and management of Brazilian species. For the identification of target species and pilot projects, a survey of conservation demands was conducted with the National Research and Conservation Centers (CNPCs) and conservation units (UCs) of ICMBio. From the demands of the CNPCs, 278 pre-projects were identified covering vertebrates (76.0%), invertebrates (17.4%), and plants (6.6%). These pre-projects encompass the four GBB hubs, with 27 in ‘DNA Barcode’, 65 in ‘DNA metabarcoding’, 157 in ‘Genomics of species of conservation interest’, and 29 in ‘Genomics of species of interest for bioeconomy’. The UCs, in turn, presented 419 demands involving vertebrates (62.5%), plants (27.5%), and invertebrates (10%). The main interests of the UCs relate to the analysis of population structure, connectivity, and effective population size. Additionally, synergies were identified between the demands of the CNPCs and between CNPCs and UCs, which can facilitate prioritizing projects. Our results represent an important source of information to support the delineation of GBB’s next steps and to guide genetic research on Brazilian species, driving innovation in biodiversity conservation.