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GISAID in crisis: can the controversial COVID genome database survive?

The most popular repository for sharing SARS-CoV-2 sequence data has come under increasing scrutiny. Scientists and funders around the world must now consider what lies ahead for the open sharing of genome data.
  1. Mariana Lenharo
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A scientist works on the sequence of the SARS-CoV-2 genome on a computer.

Scientists uploaded 15.5 million SARS-CoV-2 sequences to GISAID since the start of the pandemic. Credit: Baptiste Giroudon/Paris Match via Getty

During the COVID-19 pandemic, one online platform emerged as the main repository for viral genome data. GISAID, an initiative launched in 2008 to improve the global sharing of influenza data, earned the trust of scientists by ensuring that they would be credited for the data they generated. It now hosts more than 15 million SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences, more than any other existing database, as well as around 2 million influenza sequences.

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Nature 617, 455-457 (2023)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-01517-9

References

  1. Bogner, P. et al. Nature 442, 981 (2006).

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  2. Crits-Christoph, A. et al. Preprint at Zenodo https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7754299 (2023).

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