Photo credit: ALGAC 2026 Media Team

Building Connections Across Genetics and Bioinformatics:

ABI at SASBi–SAGS BIO2026

The African Bioinformatics Institute (ABI) recently exhibited at the inaugural African Landscape Genomics Annual Conference (ALGAC) 2026, held from 27–29 July 2026 in Centurion, South Africa.

Hosted by Tshwane University of Technology, ALGAC brought together researchers, students, and organisations working across a diverse range of genomic disciplines, spanning plants, animals, microbes, pathogens, and environmental systems. The conference highlighted the increasingly important role of genomics and bioinformatics in areas including agriculture, biodiversity conservation, One Health, and understanding the impacts of environmental change.

ABI’s exhibition provided an opportunity to introduce the Institute and its growing activities to researchers from across these communities, while connecting with scientists interested in strengthening bioinformatics research, training, and infrastructure on the continent.

These conversations are particularly important as ABI continues to expand its work beyond traditional biomedical applications of bioinformatics. The Institute has been established to support African-led bioinformatics capacity addressing the continent’s health, agricultural, and environmental challenges, making interdisciplinary meetings such as ALGAC an important space for identifying shared needs and opportunities for collaboration. 

Agricultural and environmental genomics are areas in which the need for computational capacity is growing rapidly. Increasing volumes of genomic and other biological data create opportunities to better understand crop and livestock diversity, improve breeding programmes, monitor pathogens, conserve biodiversity, and investigate how species respond to changing environments. Turning these data into useful knowledge, however, depends on access to appropriate bioinformatics skills, infrastructure, and expertise.

For ABI, ALGAC therefore provided not only an opportunity to share information about the Institute, but also to listen, learning more about the research being undertaken, the challenges scientists encounter, and where a pan-African bioinformatics network could add value.

We thank Tshwane University of Technology and the ALGAC organising committee for bringing together such a broad and interdisciplinary community, and everyone who stopped by the ABI stand to learn more about the Institute and discuss opportunities for future engagement.

We look forward to continuing these conversations and strengthening connections between bioinformatics and Africa’s agricultural, biodiversity, and environmental genomics communities.

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