The first PHABB workshop was held in Roscoff, France, from the 31st March to 4th of April, 2025.

Over the course of the week, doctoral students, researchers, and representatives from both academic and industrial associated partners came together for a rich program of scientific exchange. The workshop featured lectures, hands-on sampling activities during the exceptionally low tides along the Roscoff coastline, laboratory activities and dynamic discussions focused on (micro)algae and their pathogens.

The event fostered meaningful connections across disciplines and sectors, laying the groundwork for future collaboration within the PHABB network.

Image
Low tide at La plage des Amiets.

Field Sampling at low tide at La plage des Amiets, Bretagne.

Credits
Jeanne Miebach
Image
A kelp on Perharidy beach.

Field Sampling, hunting for seaweed and their parasites in the intertidal. With the expert guidance of Dr Akira Peters, here showing a kelp to the students on Perharidy beach, Bretagne.
 

Credits
Jeanne Miebach
Image

Field Sampling at low tide at Perharidy beach, Bretagne, Bretagne. With the exceptionally high tide coefficient he kelps become visible at low tide.

Credits
Jeanne Miebach
Image

PHABB students during a boat sampling in Roscoff, France, April 2024.

Credits
Jeanne Miebach
Image

The research vessel Neomysis.

Credits
Jeanne Miebach
Image

Dissection of the collected seaweed in the laboratory, here a kelp.

Credits
Afonso Marques
Image

Presentation of the Planktoscope, a modular, open-source hardware and software platform that allows for high-throughput quantitative imaging of plankton samples in aquatic biology and ecology (https://www.planktoscope.org/).

Credits
Claire Gachon
Image

Groupe picture of the PHABB members.

Workshop program:

Day 1

Morning: Lectures

Claire Gachon, Spotlight on algal diseases, My Seaweed Looks Weird, pathogen discovery

Marianne Verberne, Presentation of HORTIMARE, professional trajectory since PhD 

Afternoon: Field Sampling: seaweed biology, taxonomy, ecology. Hunting for seaweed and their parasites in the intertidal. With the expert guidance of Dr Akira Peters: owner and director of BEZHIN ROSKO, a SME specialized in Research and services on marine macroalgae.

Day 2

Morning: Boat Sampling: plankton sampling on the research vessel Neomysis. Demonstration of sampling techniques at controlled depths using Niskin Bottles and Plankton nets. Sampling will be performed at two different depths, in two contrasting locations:  the offshore sampling at the ASTAN Somlit site and the Penzé river estuary.  

Afternoon: practicals: Handling and preparation macroalgal and microalgal for microscopy, hunting for seaweed and microalgal parasites.

Day 3

Morning: practicals, staining techniques and microscopy, laboratory isolation and maintenance of microalgal pathosystems

Afternoon: Lectures

Pedro Murúa, Parasites and aquaculture in Latin America

Gabriel Montecinos, Brown algal cultivation and breeding, control of life cycles

Aurélie Chambouvet, Thraustochytrids and apicomplexan parasites of bivalves 

Madalena Mendes, Presentation of ALGAplus, professional trajectory

Day 4

Morning: Lectures

Nicolas Henry, Introduction to Metabarcoding

Charlotte Berthelier, Metabarcoding workflow (Nextflow nf-core/ampliseq)

Laure Guillou, The Protist Ribosomal Reference (PR2) Database 

 

Acknowledgements:

  • Station Biologique de Roscoff, namely Yacine Badis and Damien Landreau 
  • Neomysis research vessel
  • Co-funding by UKRI and by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the granting authority. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.”
Image
Published on: 18/04/2025 16:24 - Updated on: 23/04/2025 11:44