“Noah’s Ark” Project: Interim Results and Outlook for Classic Collection Development

The “Noah’s Ark” project, afoot at M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University since 2015 and aimed at studying biodiversity, is the largest ongoing Russian project in life sciences. During its implementation, several hundred new species have been described; a comprehensive genetic and biochemical characterization of these species, as well as that of the pre-existing specimens in Moscow University’s collections, has been performed. A consolidated IT system intended to house the knowledge generated by the project has been developed. Here, we summarize the investigations around the Moscow University classical biocollections which have taken place within the framework of the project and discuss future promise and the outlook for these collections.