On April 20, the international scientific community got together in the second module of the workshop “Ex situ Preservation and Data Management in Collections of Microbial Cultures”, which was organized by the Latin American Federation for Culture Collections (FELACC) and the Faculty of Engineering and Science of the university Universidad de La Frontera (UFRO), as well as the UFRO Research Center for Mycorrhizae and Agri-environmental Sustainability (CIMYSA) and the company for scientific dissemination Xplain.
The workshop was carried out through the online platform Zoom, where researchers, academics, specialists, students, etc. from different countries were able to share and update their knowledge related to the ex-situ preservation of microorganisms and data management in the field of collections of microbial cultures.
This module included presentations of five renowned speakers from Spain, Colombia, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico, what reflects the great development of the international research network established with the help of FELACC.
On this occasion, the opening conference called “MIRRI, the portal for microbiological innovation in Europe” was held by Dr. Rosa Aznar, a full university professor of microbiology from the University of Valencia (Spain), director of the Spanish Type Culture Collection (CECT), and researcher in charge in Spain of the European Horizon 2020 funded project “IS_MIRRI21 Microbial Resource Research Infrastructure (MIRRI)”.
Since 2020, MIRRI is recognized as the European Microbial Resource Research Infrastructure (https://www.mirri.org/) and, according to Dr. Aznar, the cooperation with Latin America is expected to become a reality in the near future, since the first approach with Chile and Brazil has already been made.
IMPESSIONS
“Many of us would not have been able to participate if the workshop wouldn’t have taken place online, and I am very pleased to see that we are able to carry out this kind of scientific events online, with participants from Colombia, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, and other countries. That means that science never stops. I would like to thank each and every one who is part of and participates in this kind of online events and who participates in the Collections of Microbial Cultures”, explained Dr. Roberto Suárez, the vice-president of FELACC, at the end of the workshop.
Dr. Cledir Santos, who is an academic of the Department of Chemical Science and Natural Resources at UFRO, part of the FELACC Executive Board, and one of the organizers of the workshop, thanked the different institutions and people who made this event possible. He also pointed out that “this kind of accomplishments is the result of the efforts and commitment of the Universidad de La Frontera and its Faculty of Engineering and Science and of all those who are part of the Latin American Federation for Culture Collections, as well as the valuable support of UFROs CIMYSA and the company Xplain, and other units that are involved in the development of international scientific cooperation”.
The research papers presented in the two modules of the workshop will soon be available on the official website of FELACC (http://felacc.cinvestav.mx/index.html) and the research posters can be found on the website of the company Xplain (https://xplain.cl/poster/), as an additional contribution to the consolidation and increase of international collaboration regarding ex-situ preservation of microorganisms and data management in the field of collections of microbial cultures.ous and excited to start my university studies and to learn a lot. I hope that I am going to be able to participate in the activities or student organizations that interest me.”
Written by: Daphne Bormann
Faculty of Engineering and Science, UFRO
