EBB Workshop in Gran Canaria, Spain

On May 16th and 17th, 2023, the EBB project held a workshop at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Spain). The workshop covered the topics, such as harmonisation of data management and administrative procedures, technical discussions on Material Transfer Agreements (MTA), strains deposits in culture collections and quality management systems for culture collections. Techniques for strain isolation, cryopreservation, flow cytometry, morphological and molecular characterization of species were also discussed. Potential training courses that the EBB culture collections could offer to their users were also addressed.

Additionally, training was provided on the TRACK and TRACE tools developed during the project. The TRACK tool aims to manage data on marine biological resources in natural environments. The TRACE database serves as a searchable catalog of a wide range of marine biological resources, including animals, macroalgae, protists, prokaryotes, and viruses, provided by the marine stations within the EMBRC Research Infrastructure. The catalog includes living resources currently cultured ex situ (model animal and macroalgal taxa, microorganism culture collections), fixed or frozen resources maintained in sample collections, and resources that can potentially be collected from the natural environment upon demand. In the TRACE database, users can find information about the nature and origin of the resources they are interested in and identify the marine station(s) that can provide the biological resources through on-site and/or remote access.