Training at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, April 22-23 2024

The training event took place at the Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation. A total of 22 participants joined in the event, all of them coming from a wide array of academic institutes in Greece: Aristotle University (12), University of Thessaly (1), University of Patras (1), Athens Kapodistrian University (1), CERTH (3), ELGO-Dimitra (1), HCMR (2), and Agricultural University of Athens (1). Participants were grouped into five groups with equally represented research backgrounds. Two participants brought their own samples, specifically exoparasitic arthropods and zooplankton samples.

The facilities included all the necessary equipment for training on the Barcoding (iBOL) and Genome (ERGA) components of the event (e.g., Qubit, gel electrophoresis, TapeStation, PCR). For the purposes of the training, an Oxford Nanopore MinION and associated consumables (flow cell, ligation kit, etc.) were purchased.

The work program for the 2-day training covered both aspects of the DNA barcoding (iBOL) and genomic (ERGA) communities, with a concluding session on Citizen Science and the development of the National Barcoding Node (Gr-BOL).