USER STORIES

NEOF Collaborator tells about NEOF support – Conservation genetics of island lizards

 
Prof Richard Brown of Liverpool John Moores University discusses how he has been supported by NEOF to understand the conservation genetics of lizard species on the islands of Madeira. Pacbio sequencing was first used to generate a de novo genome for one of these species and then multiple individuals’ whole genome was sequenced to understand genetic differentiation within and among islands. His work is in collaboration with local conservation efforts to preserve these unique animals.

NEOF Collaborator tells about NEOF support – Evolution of host-parasite interactions

 
Dr Venera Tyukmaeva from the University of Liverpool discusses how she has been supported by NEOF in her research into the evolution of trypanosomatids. More commonly known as the species that cause human sleeping sickness, the trypanosomatids are widespread parasites of insects. Dr Tyukmaeva used genomic sequencing, microbiome analysis and RNAseq to explore the genetic basis of host range and infectivity. She is currently writing publications and grant proposals based on these results.

Why should environmental researchers use proteomics?

 
The Centre for Proteome Research at the University of Liverpool is part of NEOF and welcomes enquiries from researchers looking to add protein level data to their research. Proteins being at the heart of all biological processes, we can identify and quantify the response of experimental systems at the protein level to environmental stressors such as pollution, temperature, host/parasite interactions etc.

Hear from one of our NEOF-funded researchers on how the NEOF proteomics team contributed to their research.

NEOF Visitor Facility – how could it support your research?

The NEOF-VF provides the following to UK-based researchers using molecular analyses to answer environmental questions:

  • Training in wet lab molecular methods;
  • Access to all necessary equipment and consumables;
  • Next-generation sequencing data (to a maximum value of approx £10k);
  • Training and assistance in data analysis and interpretation;

Researchers (including PhD students) visit the NEOF-VF for up to 6 months, to complete their own lab work following training and under the supervision of NEOF-VF staff.

NEOF will support any project that can benefit from access to NEOF’s equipment and expertise, subject to Steering Committee approval. Please send us any questions, whether more general or about your specific project that will require support, via an enquiry to NEOF. Applicants do not have to be NERC-funded (but work needs to fall within the NERC remit).

NEOF Visitors’ stories – Saleh Aljaafari

Saleh is a PhD student visiting the NEOF Visitor Facility. His project aims to make the first genetic baseline for most commercial pelagic fish species and their preys in Northern Indian Ocean through the use of metabarcoding.

It is hoped that Saleh’s findings will give an overview of the current dietary profile of yellowfin and longtail tuna (Thunnus albacares and Thunnus tonggol respectively) and assess the potential impact of Indian oil sardines intensive harvesting in the tuna predatory preferences.

NEOF Visitors’ stories – Sophie Scutt

Sophie is a Civil Engineering PhD student working at the NEOF Visitor Facility. Her work involves investigating the presence of pathogens during urban flooding events in Sheffield. This work involves extracting environmental DNA (eDNA) from flood water and using metabarcoding and high throughput sequencing to identify the bacteria present. It is hoped that Sophie’s findings will provide data on the threats to human health in areas that do flood frequently, that will be useful in planning for and mitigating against such events.

NEOF Visitors’ stories – Alejandro Maeda-Obregon

To celebrate 25 years supporting UK science, the NEOF Visitor Facility has worked with current visitors to create four short films that highlight their work and showcase the types of studies we support. This is the second film in the series and features Alejandro Maeda-Obregon, a visitor from University College London, working on his PhD degree in Genetics, Evolution and Environment. Alejandro is investigating the use of molecular ecology techniques to assess biological communities from endangered freshwater habitats.

NEOF Visitors’ stories – Anna Jemmett

To celebrate 25 years supporting UK science, the NEOF Visitor Facility has worked with current visitors to create four short films that highlight their work and showcase the types of studies we support. The first film is by Anna Jemmett, a visitor from the Wild Camel Protection Foundation, the University of Kent and the Institute of Zoology ZSL, working on conservation genetics. Anna is investigating the hybridisation of the critically endangered Wild camel (Camelus ferus) with the Bactrian camel (Camelus bactrianus).