COURSE OVERVIEW This course will take you to the Peruvian Amazon, where you will learn how field research is conducted, assist in sample collection, and then actually extract, amplify, sequence, and interpret genetic data to answer several practical research questions about wildlife ecology and natural history. It will take place at the Inkaterra Field Guides Station, which is the site of the Green Lab, the world’s first tropical rainforest molecular genetics laboratory. You will go from sample collection to sequence analysis directly in the rainforest. This course is will provide an introduction to next-generation primatologists and biologists, who will gain not only the skills requisite for field research but the technical know-how to employ genetic research tools in the field.
See video from the first #Junglegenomics field course in Summer 2018: https://youtu.be/rLDwuBl5tK8 COURSE OBJECTIVES The goals of this course are to give participants advanced training in field techniques important to the collection of biological samples from Amazonian wildlife, their prey, and their parasites, all the way to sequencing DNA from these sources. The course has the following objectives To engage in both independent and team-based data collection To teach sample collection techniques from Amazonian wildlife, with a focus on primates as model megafauna To learn sample storage and clean-lab protocols in the field To extract DNA in a field laboratory To test DNA quality and quantify it To run basic PCRs for a range of markers using multiple protocols on field PCR machines (smaller, lighter, lower-scale and more rugged than typical lab-based machines) To explore metagenomics in the field using three case studies The first case study has been picked: Pathogen Screening in Peruvian Wildlife >Over the past several generations the world has witnessed a number of >significant wildlife disease outbreaks affecting human and animal populations >to varying extents. Ebola virus, Zika virus, Hantavirus, Influenza, and the >plague are well-known zoonotic diseases most people have heard of in the news. >As human and wildlife populations come into conflict over access to habitat >and natural resources, the need to monitor pathogens in animal populations >increases. >For this case study, we will collect fecal and blood samples from wild and >captive primates. We will use viral DNA and RNA markers to amplify various >sections of viral genomes. Samples will be barcoded and then sequenced >together on the Oxford Nanopore MinION. Sequence data will be compared to a >reference database, and the course will then generate graphics to illustrate >the number of sequences matching to several major viral family groups >Skillsets: Sample collection from wild primates, sample storage and sterile >technique, DNA extraction using multiple kits for comparison, amplification of >barcoded regions in the virus genome, gel electrophoresis to confirm amplicon >sizes, sequencing using a MinION, real-time sequence identification with the >WIMP workflow. INFORMATION Credits: equivalent to 3 credits Location: Inkaterra Guides Field Station Dates: July 14 to July 27, 2019 Duration:2 weeks Application Deadline: May 15, 2019 Language: English Itinerary: July 14: Arrive in Puerto Maldonado, go directly to IGFS July 15-22: Field genetics workshop July 23 - 26 Bioinformatics workshop July 27 Course departure For complete program details, please see here: https://fieldprojects.org/course/genomics-in-the-jungle/
