Under the sponsorship of Professor Dr. Samira Naji Kazem, Dean of the College of Science for Women, the Continuing Education Unit, in collaboration with the Department of Life Sciences, held a workshop titled “Sequence Registration on the BOLD Systems Website”. The workshop was presented by Assistant Professor Dr. Hala Haitham Mohammad Ali and Lecturer Dr. Shaima Awad Abdul, and took place in the library hall of the Department of Life Sciences, with the attendance of students from the department on Tuesday, January 28, 2025.
The workshop began with the lecturers introducing the BOLD Systems website as a platform for database management and providing tools that assist researchers and scientists in the field of genetic classification. The platform collects genetic data and images of living organisms to support research in biodiversity by providing accurate information about different species. It contains data on thousands of species identified based on DNA, contributing to enhanced taxonomic accuracy. It also facilitates large-scale biodiversity assessment, supports the discovery of new species by highlighting sequences that do not match known classifications, and bolsters efforts to conserve biodiversity.
The workshop explained the advantages of this website, which relies on genetic barcode technology—a method for identifying biological species using a portion of the organism’s DNA. This technology allows researchers to compare genetic samples they collect with those stored in the database for precise species identification.
Additionally, the workshop outlined the steps for registering a sequence (DNA sequence) on the BOLD Systems platform, noting that specialists in this field need to upload the genetic sequences of living organisms to the platform for documentation and comparison with other data.
At the end of the workshop, a series of inquiries and comments were raised, and the lecturers addressed them in detail to ensure maximum benefit.
