Andrew Hufton is a professional scientific editor with a passion for promoting open science and FAIR data sharing. He worked on digital sequence information policy issues as part of the WiLDSI project for parts of 2021 and 2022. Andrew is currently the Editor-in-Chief of the Biotechnology Journal and Advanced Genetics. Previously, he launched and led the journal Scientific Data. He has a Ph.D. in Genetics from Stanford University and has published research on topics in developmental biology, bioinformatics and genome evolution.

1. What do we mean by “open access” for DSI?
Andrew L. Hufton
andrew@alhufton.com
Editor-in-Chief, Wiley
Advanced Genetics
Biotechnology Journal

2. 2 Nov 2022
A. L. Hufton • andrew@alhufton.com
2
Image from “Amplicon Analysis in R”
(https://elizabethmcd.github.io/R-amplicons/index.html), by Elizabeth McDaniel,
Copyright (c) Data Carpentry. CC BY 4.0
DNA is designed at a molecular level to be
copied and shared

3. 2 Nov 2022
A. L. Hufton • andrew@alhufton.com
3
All life shares a common genetic heritage
we learn from DNA mainly through comparison
http://tolweb.org/media/25382
Creative Commons Attribution-
NoDerivs License - Version 3.0.
Copyright © Tree of Life Web
Project

4. 2 Nov 2022
A. L. Hufton • andrew@alhufton.com
4
The sequencing community was quick to recognize the value of
sharing their data through common, open databases
Genbank
USA
1982
DDBJ
Japan
1984
EMBL-
Bank / ENA
Europe
1980
International Nucleotide Sequence Database Collaboration (INSDC)
2005
DSI are shared:
Alongside scientific publications · With patent applications · Automatically by major sequencing centers

5. 2 Nov 2022
A. L. Hufton • andrew@alhufton.com
5
What does “open” mean for DSI
Access is…
• Anonymous
• Free of charge
• Free of restrictions
DSI are shared in ways that are…
● Interoperable
● Support scientific transparency and
reproducibility

6. 2 Nov 2022
A. L. Hufton • andrew@alhufton.com
6
DSI use is complex, collaborative and global
• Downloaded >30 million times per year
• >10 million unique users
• DSI linked to >1,200 inter-connected databases
• DSI are used by researchers in all countries
Data exchange between EMBL-EBI and
external data resources
From Charles E Cook et al., Nucleic Acids Research
2020 https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkz1033 CC-BY 4.0

7. 2 Nov 2022
A. L. Hufton • andrew@alhufton.com
7
Final points
●
DSI are merged, combined and transformed along the chain
of discovery
●
Open DSI databases place no restrictions on the sequences or
their use, but this does not mean that they are necessarily free
of all restrictions

8. 2 Nov 2022
A. L. Hufton • andrew@alhufton.com
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Thanks!
Special credit to:
●
Rodrigo Sara
●
Amber H. Scholz
●
and the WiLDSI project
Sara, R., Hufton, A. L., Sett, S., & Scholz, A. H. (2022). Open access: a technical
assessment for the debate on benefit-sharing and digital sequence information.
Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5849643
Sara, R., Hufton, A. L., & Scholz, A. H. (2021). Compatible or Incompatible? DSI, Open
Access and Benefit-sharing. Preprint at https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/nw8g9
Now published in “Access and Benefit Sharing of Genetic Resources, Information and
Traditional Knowledge” Edited By Lawson, C., Rourke, M., Humphries, F.
https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003301998
Learn more about the history and background of openness and DSI
Andrew L. Hufton
andrew@alhufton.com
Editor-in-Chief, Wiley
Advanced Genetics
Biotechnology Journal