EMBO Practical Course: Integrating traditional and molecular approaches in ecology of glacial habitats
The 11th International Course in Microbial Ecology (ICME 11), entitled “EMBO-practical course Deciphering microbial diversity and function in the environment through Next Generation Sequencing” lasted 13 days and it took place in two different locations: in the National Stelvio Park, closed to the Forni Glaciar and then at the laboratories of Milano Bicocca University . The course has been awarded by EMBO as EMBO Practical course #EMBOecoGlacial
Our current knowledge of glacier ecosystems is poor and fragmented. Most studies conducted so far focused on peculiar supraglacial habitats and were restricted to specific taxa. The ICME 11 special course focused on glaciers. It has been organised in two locations and lasted 12 days. The venue for field activities and some lectures was the Rifugio Branca in Santa Caterina Valfurva (SO), Italy Alps. Alpine Guides and expert researchers guided participants for sample collection in the National Stelvio Park closed and on top of the FORNI glacier. The venue for wet molecular laboratories, bioinformatics and statistics computer laboratories, practicals and other lectures was the University of Milano Bicocca, Italy.
Young scientists with different backgrounds were trained in planning and executing research on the ecological processes of supraglacial and proglacial ecosystems. The course taught to reconstruct ecological webs and other ecological relationships. It spanned from sampling design and sample collection to traditional morphologic classification of organisms in the field and it ended up in the laboratories with sequencing, bioinformatic and statistical elaboration of sequencing data.
Organizers and Instructors
- Andrea Franzetti, University of Milano Bicocca
- Roberto Ambrosini, University of Milano La Statale
- Ewa Poniecka, University of Warsaw
- Krzysztof Zawierucha, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań
- Mauro Gobbi, MUSE- Science Museum of Trento
- Barbara Valle, University of Milano La Statale
- Marco Caccianiga, University of Milano La Statale
- Valeria Tatangelo, University of Milano Bicocca
- Valeria Lencioni, MUSE Science Museum of Trento
- Catherine La Rose, University of Lyon
- Alessia Guerrieri, University of Milano La Statale
- Francesca Formicola, University of Milano Bicocca
- Manuela Coci MICROBECO, Catania, Italy
