The inaugural “Trematodes 2024” conference was held from the 8th to the 13^th of September 2024, hosted at the Queensland Museum, Brisbane, Australia.

The conference was attended by more than 80 delegates from institutions across 22 countries. The scientific programme included eight invited addresses, 58 oral presentations, 25 poster presentations, and five workshops. The conference covered a wide range of topics, including trematode taxonomy and systematics, evolution, life cycles, ecology, pathology and disease, and biogeography.

NRC researcher Dr Olena Kudlai was a part of the conference organizing committee and the youngest invited speaker. During her plenary talk “Navigating new waters: assessing the diversity of trematodes through their intermediate hosts” she spoke not only about aspects of her research on trematodes but also shared her career journey as a young female scientist with elements of “advice to young trematodologists”.

Another oral presentation delivered by Dr Kudlai focused on the changes in trematode diversity in freshwater fish in Lithuania over the past 40 years – the results of her ongoing project “Reviving fish parasitology in Lithuania: assessing the current helminth diversity in fish and the impact of non-native fish in Lithuanian freshwaters” conducted at NRC.

We kindly invite you all to the active celebration of the scientific community – the FTMC Fall Cross – on 10 May 2024.

The event, which is becoming a fun tradition, started last autumn as a gathering of the FTMC community, and in the winter it was attended by representatives of Vilnius University and Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (VILNIUS TECH); moreover, representatives from Mykolas Romeris University and the Faculty of Economics-Informatics in Vilnius, a branch of the University of Bialystok, joined for the first time for the FTMC Spring Cross.

We expect that the fourth Cross event will attract even more participants: for the first time, we are inviting not only the employees of all Lithuanian universities, but also the staff of scientific research centres. Come with your colleagues, let’s get to know each other and communicate!

We will run in the charming surroundings of the Botanical Garden of Vilnius University in Kairėnai. Most of the track is asphalted. After the run we will treat all participants with hot Lithuanian buckwheat porridge with (and without) meat and tea.

Venue: 43 Kairėnų St., Botanical Garden of Vilnius University, a map is attached (marked No 1).

Convenient parking spaces on Plytinės St. near the Japanese Garden ticket office.

Meeting time: 18 October, 11:30 at the starting point marked on the map (change of clothes if necessary; issue of numbers, warm-up exercise).

Start time: 12:00.

Registration until: 15 October (inclusive): https://forms.gle/bUxkY1CXRbdgMSfd9

Choose the distance that suits you best:

2 km – just a jog, can be bypassed (1 lap, blue numbers);

6 km – for sports (3 laps, red numbers);

10 km – endurance test (5 laps, black numbers).

Important information: our beloved pets are not allowed in the VU Botanical Garden of Vilnius University.

Responsibility is an essential part of the event.

Each of us accepts responsibility for any incidents that may occur during the cross-country event, including collisions with other participants, collapses, etc., and any resulting injuries and/or possible health problems.

By signing the registration form, each of us confirms that:

– we are aware of and agree to these terms and conditions;

– we are sufficiently trained and healthy and there are no medical records that prohibit us from completing the chosen distance in this race;

– we waive any claim against our employer in respect of any injury that may arise from participation in this cross-country event.

Link to the FB event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1063294332114721?ref=newsfeed

We look forward to seeing you!

The last two weeks of September, Dr Carolina Chagas visited the laboratory of Dr Josué Martinéz-de-La Puente in the Doñana Biological Station, Seville, Spain. This visit was funded by the COST-Action 22108 Wildlife Malaria Network (WIMANET).

During the visit, the organization of the 3rd WIMANET Summer School in Spain was discussed with a focus on investigation. In addition, a review manuscript on Culicoides and their role as vectors of avian blood parasites was outlined.

There was also an opportunity to exchange knowledge regarding mosquito and Culicoides sampling, as well as perform laboratory techniques to confirm the vector competence of these insects.

This collaborative effort aims to encourage more colleagues to adopt integrative methods to better understand the relationship between Culicoides and avian blood parasites.

In the first week of September, researchers, postdoctoral fellows, and PhD students from the Nature Research Centre (NRC) had the opportunity to participate in the inaugural Summer School of the WIMANET (Wildlife Malaria Network) COST Action , held in Mohelno, Czechia.

As part of the teaching team, Dr. Vaidas Palinauskas and Dr. Carolina Chagas delivered insightful lectures on the morphological identification of haemosporidian parasites and methods for assessing the vector competence of Culicoides insects. Their sessions provided critical insights into the study of wildlife malaria and the role of vectors in the transmission of these parasites.

In parallel, Dr. Melanie Duc, postdoctoral researcher Alžbeta Šujanová, and PhD students German Liberato and Misa Shimizu attended the lectures, expanding their knowledge of various aspects of wildlife malaria research, including how these parasites affect avian hosts and their interactions within broader ecological communities.

This Summer School offered an invaluable opportunity for NRC researchers and students to exchange knowledge and experiences with young scientists and colleagues from across Europe, further strengthening collaborative ties within the wildlife disease research community.

Text: Carolina Chagas and Vaidas Palinauskas

Photos: Vaidas Palinauskas and Pavel Munclinger

Better together: Scientists from 33 European countries join forces to generate reference genomes for the continent’s rich biodiversity

Release: 17 September 2024 

Link to the collection: https://www.nature.com/collections/european-reference-genome-atlas

The European Reference Genome Atlas (ERGA) Pilot Project reports its success in uniting researchers from across Europe to produce high-quality reference genomes for 98 species. This continental effort is setting the stage for a new, inclusive and equitable model for biodiversity genomics.

Strength in (bio)diversity: Some of the European species selected for the ERGA Pilot Project. 

Photos by ©Mantonature, ©Cucu Remus, ©dadalia, ©scubaluna, ©Kristian_Nilsson,  ©AlbyDeTweede, ©Carine Carnier,  ©Daniel Jara from Getty Images via Canva.com

Introduction to the Pilot Project Collection:

In a new publication, the European Reference Genome Atlas (ERGA) announces the success of its Pilot Project. This pioneering initiative assembled a large collaborative network of researchers and institutions across 33 countries to produce high-quality reference genomes of 98 European species. This marks a significant milestone in the quest to create a high-quality reference genome database for all European animals, plants, and fungi. The Pilot Project has provided valuable lessons and highlighted key challenges, positioning ERGA as a model for decentralised, inclusive, and equitable biodiversity genomics initiatives around the world, as reported in a new collection of research articles published today in npj Biodiversity. This collection provides a broad overview of the Pilot Project, the sample collection and processing procedures and insights into national node developments that resulted from the Pilot Project. The collection will continue to be added to as papers associated with the Pilot Project become available over time.

Key Highlights of the Flagship Paper:

Among many of the project’s milestones are the first chromosome-level genome assemblies of species from Greece, one of Europe’s most biodiverse countries. Species such as the Cretan wall lizard and Aristotle’s catfish were sampled by local researchers in Greece to produce genomes that are now openly available for anyone across the world to access and study. This is a great example of what can be achieved by uniting an international community of biodiversity researchers, fostering collaboration between and within countries. The ERGA Pilot emphasised equity and inclusion, with the goal that genomic research and resources are accessible to all, regardless of geographical boundaries. For many of the participating researchers and countries, the project offered the first opportunity to actively engage in the generation of state-of-the art reference genomic resources for their native biodiversity.

The ERGA Pilot was also successful in building momentum and bringing visibility to the growing importance of biodiversity genomics in Europe and beyond. Genomic data hold immense potential to inform conservation actions for endangered species and unlock discoveries in the fields of human health, bioeconomy, biosecurity and many other applications. Among the species sequenced by the project is for example the greater argentine – a commercially important fish species from the northern Atlantic. This new reference genome will enable scientists to make more accurate assessments of the genetic status of the species’ populations, ultimately guiding management decisions to ensure that fishing practices are sustainable and responsible.

As the global scientific community strives to unlock the full potential of genomic data, the establishment of a Europe-wide collaborative network under the ERGA umbrella accelerates scientific progress and facilitates its translation into tangible benefits for biodiversity and society. Additionally, the network helps researchers at all career stages to find and share opportunities for training, partnerships, and funding.

Representatives of ERGA in Lithuania, scientists of Nature Research Centre

The members of the ERGA council representing Lithuania are scientists of the Nature Research Centre, dr. Laima Baltrūnaitė and dr. Vaidas Palinauskas. The scientists contributed to the pilot genomic project, together with their colleagues from Poland offering to sequence the genome of one of the most protected bird species in Europe, aquatic warbler Acrocephalus paludicola. This species is included in the Lithuanian Red Book and in the list of strictly protected animal, plant and mushroom species of the Republic of Lithuania. Sequencing of genome is extremely important for population studies and will serve for conservation and recovery of vulnerable aquatic warbler populations. Currently, genomic data is being analyzed and prepared for deposition.

Addressing Challenges:

ERGA is the European node of the global Earth BioGenome Project (EBP). In order to achieve its ambitious goal – to sequence all eukaryotic life on Earth – the EBP crucially needs worldwide participation and new, decentralised models of genome production. The ERGA Pilot was able to show that a fully distributed, collaborative, and coordinated genome production model is not only feasible, but effective – even at a continental scale and without a central source of funding available. In fact, most of the project budget came from grassroots efforts by individual members and partnering institutions, with additional support from sequencing partners and commercial sequencing companies providing grants, discounts and in-kind contributions.

The ERGA Pilot project helped to identify and address the many challenges of working at the international scale. These challenges include dealing with the legal and logistical hurdles of shipping biological samples across borders, resource disparities between countries, and the search for balance between decentralisation and the need for standardisation to guarantee that only the highest possible quality reference genome assemblies, that met EBP metrics, were produced by the project.

Future Directions:

ERGA’s decentralised approach holds great promise for the future of biodiversity genomics. The Pilot Project’s success in building momentum and uniting researchers illustrates the power of this model. By fostering international collaboration and focusing on inclusivity and equity, ERGA is setting new standards for biodiversity genomics. The lessons learned and challenges addressed in the Pilot Project will guide future efforts, promoting robust and standardised workflows and a comprehensive genomic database for species in Europe and beyond.

Quotes:

“The ERGA Pilot Project attempted to scale the generation of high-quality reference genomes across an entire continent. An endeavour of such magnitude was made possible only through its commitment to the principles of inclusion, equity and collaboration as well  as the dedication of its diverse, transdisciplinary and cross sectoral participants. I feel incredibly lucky to have worked alongside such an amazing group of colleagues to help kickstart the construction of a genomics encyclopaedia of European species.”  Ann McCartney, Member of the ERGA Pilot Committee – Assistant Researcher University of California Santa Cruz, and adjunct Ass. Prof at University College Dublin.

“When we took on the leadership of this project, we didn’t anticipate the extent of the work ahead. It was a challenging endeavour, but through perseverance and teamwork, we succeeded. We also had the invaluable support of sequencing centres, universities, and commercial companies who contributed to the ERGA Pilot Project, offering human resources for library creation, free sequencing, and in-kind products. This experience was truly one of a kind.”  Alice Mouton, Member of the ERGA Pilot Committee – former FNRS postdoctoral researcher, and scientific collaborator at the University of Liege, Belgium.

“ERGA was all a dream, until it wasn’t. Through this pilot project the prospect of uniting Europe under the flag of biodiversity genomics is now reality. We can be proud to have first established the process by which the genomes of many species will become available to the scientific community for conservation and beyond.” Giulio Formenti, Member of the ERGA Pilot Committee – Research Assistant Professor at the Rockefeller University.

“The ERGA Pilot project is a radical step forward for the continent as it links researchers who need genomes sequenced with sequencing hubs ready to do just that. This exchange promotes sharing of tools, approaches, and understanding and has led to the successful bid for Europe-wide Horizon 2020 Biodiversity Genomics Europe funding. The pilot teams’ enthusiasm has carried through to the wider project, and I am excited to see what they will accomplish in the future.” – Mark Blaxter, Head of the Tree of Life Programme, Wellcome Sanger Institute.

“The ERGA pilot demonstrated the importance of a well-connected scientific community that is willing to cooperate to achieve a major common goal. This success marks a significant milestone for ERGA, illustrating that such an initiative can be highly inclusive while still maintaining the high standards set by the Earth BioGenome Project (EBP) for reference genome production. This ERGA pilot provides both an example and a roadmap for distributed efforts to build Biogenomes across Europe and potentially beyond.” Camila Mazzoni, former ERGA Chair and senior author of the article published and group leader at the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research.

“The ERGA Pilot project is a significant milestone in the Earth BioGenome Project (EBP) and a major step forward for biodiversity genomics in Europe. As the first biodiversity genomics project coordinated at a continental scale, ERGA has demonstrated two fundamental principles on which the EBP was built  — the first being that sequencing capacity will be geographically distributed, and the second being that any benefits derived from sequenced genomes would be shared equitably. ERGA is now poised to expand its goals to sequence thousands of genomes for conserving European biodiversity and the growth of a sustainable bioeconomy.” Harris Lewin, Chair of the EBP Executive Council and Research Professor at ASU.

–

For more information about the European Reference Genome Atlas (ERGA) and its Pilot Project, please visit erga-biodiversity.eu and follow the initiative on social media (X and LinkedIn). Join us in advancing the frontiers of biodiversity genomics and contributing to make the field more inclusive.

Contact Information (press release)
Luísa Marins

media@erga-biodiversity.eu , marins@izw-berlin.de
erga-biodiversity.eu

This article, “The European Reference Genome Atlas: piloting a decentralised approach to equitable biodiversity genomics” and published in npj Biodiversity, will be free to access and can be read here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s44185-024-00054-6

Reference:

Mc Cartney AM., Formenti G., Mouton A., et al. The European Reference Genome Atlas: piloting a decentralised approach to equitable biodiversity genomics. npj Biodiversity, 2024. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s44185-024-00054-6

Link to the collection: https://www.nature.com/collections/european-reference-genome-atlas

Website: https://www.erga-biodiversity.eu/

Social media Information: please tag the following accounts in your posts and use the #ERGAPilot hashtag 🙂

• X: https://x.com/erga_biodiv
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/erga-european-reference-genome-atlas
• Youtube Channel: ERGA – European Reference Genome Atlas – YouTube
• Introductory video:  What is ERGA? – European Reference Genome Atlas

More information about the pilot project: https://www.erga-biodiversity.eu/pilot-project

On August 26, 2024, postdoctoral fellow Michal Šujan from the Laboratory of Quaternary Research at the Nature Research Centre, Vilnius, received the IUGS Early Career Scientist Medal during the opening ceremony of the 37th International Geological Congress in Busan, South Korea. The nomination for this prestigious award was submitted to the IUGS Executive Committee by the leadership of the Slovak National Geological Committee, based on the nominee’s outstanding research and application of cosmogenic nuclides in geochronology and sedimentological research.

The IUGS Early Career Scientist Medal is awarded once every four years to a young researcher who has achieved exceptional results in original research in geology. The selection of the laureate is conducted by a vote of the Executive Committee of the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS), which represents national geological organizations from 121 countries and represents more than one million geoscientists.

Biologists Agnė Bučaitė and Vita Žvynakytė from Laboratory of Ecotoxicology participated in the “Our Common Baltic” training organized by “Coalition Clean Baltic” (CCB) in Denmark on August 26-30. In the picturesque city of Kerteminde, together with young scientists, environmental enthusiasts and specialists from 7 countries, researchers deepened their knowledge about the ecological state of the Baltic Sea and its protection. They visited The Marine Biological Research Center (University of Southern Denmark), listened to lectures that covered not only environmental protection, pollution and changes in biodiversity, but also the importance of communication and citizen science. During workshops, the CoastWatch initiative was introduced and plastic monitoring was carried out on the sea coast in order to determine the purpose of plastic waste (food packaging, fishing waste, etc.) and waste producers. Researchers also discussed the infrastructure projects around the Baltic Sea, analyzed the Baltic Sea Action Plan (HELCOM), and were introduced to maritime territorial planning.

More information about “Coalition Clean Baltic”: www.ccb.se/

IN MEMORIAM

Dr. Brigita Čapukoitienė

 

 

 

 

We have lost our colleague Brigita Čapukoitienė, PhD in Biomedical Sciences, researcher at the Laboratory of Ecotoxicology.

Dr. Brigita Čapukoitienė obtained Bachelor’s degree in Biology in 2002, and Master’s degree in Genetics in 2004 from Vilnius University.

In 2005-2009, she studied for a PhD at the Nature Research Centre and in 2011 defended her doctoral thesis “The expression of Saccharomyces cerevisiae K2 preprotoxin gene in plant Nicotiana tabacum L. and the search of toxins producing microorganisms and analysis of their use”.

In 2004–2012, she worked at the Laboratory of Genetics of the Institute of Botany of Nature Research Centre.

In 2017–2021, she worked at the Laboratory of Geotoxicology of the Institute of Ecology of Nature Research Centre.

In 2021–2024, she worked at the Laboratory of Ecotoxicology of Nature Research Centre.

Dr. B. Čapukoitienė’s research interests: genetic toxicology, ecotoxicology, genetic engineering, killer yeast research.

She co-authored peer-reviewed scientific papers with colleagues, supervised the final theses of university students and participated in various research projects.

Brigita will be remembered by her colleagues as an enthusiastic, positive personality, full of love for life and respect for every person.

Farewell to Dr. Brigita Čapukoitienė on Monday (26 August, from 16:00 to 21:00) and Tuesday (27 August, from 9:00 to 12:00) at the Vilnius Funeral Home at Sietyno St. 14, Vilnius. The funeral will take place on the second farewell day at Liepynė cemetery.