Decoding the diversity of daffs: School students in the UK are helping to untangle the genetic complexity behind thousands of different varieties of daffodil

The article describes the a novel citizen science project, the Daffodil DNA Project, that is helping to inform and enthuse a new generation of plant scientists. Using daffodil cultivars as novel model the students and their teachers in participatory schools in Scotland and more recently England, have be working with STEM professionals and academics over 3 academic years to sample various heritage and commercial daffodils. Developed with funding support by Royal Society Partnership Grants, the schools extracts DNA from their leaves and using high throughput DNA sequencing in the classroom before assembling the chloroplast's genome. The outputs of this work are helping to understand and hopefully preserve this beautiful diversity while also teaching children hands-on plant science and DNA sequencing.