Axeq Technologies and the University of Puerto Rico, Collaborate with the National Cancer Institute to Produce the First Draft Sequence of a Critically Endangered Parrot Species

Puerto Rican Amazon. Image by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Southeast RegionROCKVILLE, (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Axeq Technologies announced the completion of a draft sequence of the Puerto Rican parrot genome (Amazona vittata) in collaboration with investigators from multiple institutions including the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, and the National Cancer Institute. The project marks a milestone in the understanding of the genome of this critically endangered bird. This is also the first parrot of the large genus Amazona to be sequenced. The sequencing data represents about 42.5 billion nucleotide bases, which is equivalent to an average coverage of 26.89X. The funding of the project is made possible through an international collaboration supported by the donations from the people of Puerto Rico.

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Endangered Puerto Rican Parrot on the Rise

Photo by Tom MacKenzie, USFWS - Puerto Rican parrot pictured inside a fly cage at El Yunque National Forest protected habitat in Luquillo, Puerto Rico. The parrots are one of about 34 Amazon parrots' species found in the Americas. They are known for the bright red shock of feathers at their forehead, white rings around their eyes and the shimmering blue feathers under their wings. The Puerto Rican parrot has hovered at the edge of extinction for decades but is now making a bit of a comeback.

Deep amid the dense greenery of a rain forest, down an unmarked road, behind a barbed wire fence in a low-slung compound monitored by security cameras, government scientists are nursing a special patient back to health.

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Why City Parrots can help with parrot conservation

Red-fronted conures checking out the local Gazette, Miami Springs, FLCity slickers

Have you spotted them in your area already? Chances are you are closer to a wild parrot than you might have imagined. In the USA and Europe, many major cities have one or two species of parrot living and breeding within their city limits. 10 European capitals, for example, hold psittacine populations.

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