BopCo
In progress
01.11.15 → 31.12.24
Barcoding Facility for Organisms and Tissues of Policy Concern
The Barcoding Facility for Organisms and Tissues of Policy Concern (BopCo) is a, BELSPO financed, species identification service that provides access to expertise and infrastructure necessary to identify specimens, tissues or derived products of organisms of policy concern:
- Endangered & protected species (e.g. CITES, IUCN)
- Invasive Alien Species
- (Agricultural) pest species
- Human/veterinary disease and parasite vectors
- Species of forensic interest
- Species from the human food chain
- …
BopCo applies an integrative approach, involving morphology, reference collections (RBINS & RMCA) and DNA analyses, including DNA barcoding to identify biological samples. To this end, BopCo has access to fully equipped DNA laboratories (RBINS & RMCA), an Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope, and Micro-CT-scanners. As such, BopCo is a contribution of the Belgian federal government to the European Research Infrastructure Consortium “LifeWatch”.BopCo’s identification service is available to anyone requiring identifications of biological materials of policy concern. Depending on the nature of an identification request, charges may be implemented.
Funding
Belgian Science Policy Office (BELSPO)
Internal members
- Thierry Backeljau
- Sophie Gombeer
- Ann Vanderheyden
Other members
- Marc De Meyer (RMCA)
- Nathalie Smitz (RMCA)
- Kenny Meganck (RMCA)
Partners en sponsors
