Research activity for young people

Research activity for young people

Investigator: Mgr. Alena Fornůsková, Ph.D.
Number of Project: VVAM-17-13
Agency: Grant agency of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic
Duration: 04. 09. 2017 - 07. 09. 2017

Research Activities for Young Researchers and Students (RAYRS) from abroad contribute to the acquisition of prospective researchers and students from abroad for research work, the internationalization of workplaces of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic and the visibility and enhancement of the prestige of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic in an international context.

The aim of RAYRS is to increase the scientific qualification, to gain new experience and knowledge, to improve the techniques and methods of research work, to establish contacts and possibly involve the participants in the research activities of the workplace.

The IVB asked, within the framework of a call from 2016, to support the organization of a hybrid zone workshop. The subsidy of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic was approved in the total amount of CZK 40,000.

The main objective of the workshop is to introduce the issue of hybrid zones as an ideal environment for research into pathogen interactions with their hosts. Hybrid zones (HZ) are so-called natural laboratories, where we can use the new sequencing methods and whole-gene sequencing to closely observe evolution-genetic processes in the natural environment. HZ research has a long tradition at the Institute of Vertebrate Biology of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (ÚBO AV ČR), recently it is also focused on the coevolution between the hosts and their parasites. Recently, in the study of HZ domestic mice, it was found that the genetic structure of some parasites whose life cycle is closely related to the host under certain conditions mirrors the host's genetic structure, with the existence of hybrids in the middle of HZ. The new sequencing methods then bring additional research possibilities. The workshop will be lectured primarily by experts from the ÚBO AV ČR, who are actively engaged in the research of hybrid zones. Lectures and practical exercises will focus on the use of high-throughput sequencing in studying evolutionary-genetic processes. Students will be able to get acquainted with various methods, practical tips and analyzes that are relevant to studying interactions between hosts and pathogens.

The workshop will be held on 4 - 7 September 2017 at the Mohelský mill field station.

Contact mail: fornuskova@ivb.cz, komarkova@ivb.cz

Course capacity is limited.