Expressions of Intent for IPY 2007-2008 Activities

Expression of Interest Details

PROPOSAL INFORMATION

Summer School on Snow Algae: Psychrophilic microalgae as a bioresource for taxonomic, ecological, physiological, and molecular studies on cold adaptation  (Summer School on Snow Algae)

Outline
Psychrophilic (cold-loving) organisms are well in focus of current research. Their obligate adaptation to substrate temperatures near 0 °C (in the case of snow algae) makes them an interesting eukaryotic model to understand the numerous metabolic alterations necessary to thrive in an environment less hospitable to their mesophilic counterparts. More and more researchers get involved with these organisms, however, the access to viable and well characterised strains is limited and to our knowledge no coordinated attempts have been made so far to bring together the colleagues concerned to align the knowledge and to eliminate misunderstandings. To our knowledge no attempts have been made so far to compare the strains held at the different collections, neither regarding taxonomy and phylogeny, nor physiology and their temperature demands. As species identification within the snow algae is very difficult often strains are misinterpreted and misidentified. An updated and well characterised snow algal inventory is missing. The first and last comprehensive monograph on cryovegetation was published by Kol in 1968. Since then the focus has broadened from taxonomy and ecology to physiology, biochemistry and molecular studies of cold adaptation. As far as culture collections of snow algae are concerned one can say that a small number of important culture collections exist, but their access to them, and the exchange of strains for taxonomic comparison is often extremely difficult and sometimes even impossible due to transport and customs difficulties. Also each collection usually represents only taxa collected at the specific locations where the colleague has worked. Thus an overall view of snow algal diversity is hard to achieve.This project proposal has the aim to organise a “Summer School on Snow Algae” which merges talks and workshops on specific topics related to snow algae. Primary intention is to align the information made available by specialists from different disciplines and to eliminate misunderstandings. A mutual web site is thought to facilitate the exchange of information and make this research field open to other scientists but also to the public. The workshops are thought to initiate cooperations among different work groups covering such important fields as taxonomy/phylogeny, molecular studies and cryopreservation techniques to secure this valuable bioresource. Students will be most welcome to attend the meeting in order to recruit new scientists for this field of research.

What significant advance(s) in relation to the IPY themes and targets can be anticipated from this project?
The project will be an international platform to exchange and harmonise the knowledge about snow algae. The development of suitable methods for strain comparisons from different collections is expected to lead to an updated species list representing the earth’s current inventory of cold-adapted algae. Results from earlier publications, current results and future studies may use psychrophilic algae as bioindicators for climate changes in the polar regions. New frontiers in snow algal research are available through “coldzyme” research, i.e. the study of cold-active enzymes from psychrophilic organisms. Molecular studies reveal the insight into new adaptations to a life in the cold.

What international collaboration is involved in this project?
Snow algal specialists from the U.S.A., the Czech Republic, Austria and hopefully Japan are interested in taking part in the summer school. They represent different fields of research and different locations where snow algae have been sampled (Antarctica, Spitsbergen, U.S.A., Europe, Asia). Further participants from other nations will be invited.

FIELD ACTIVITY DETAILS

Geographical location(s) for the proposed field activities:
no field work is planned

Approximate timeframe(s) for proposed field activities:
Arctic: n/a
Antarctic: n/a

Significant facilities will be required for this project:
No significant facilities are required

Will the project leave a legacy of infrastructure?
A website is planned to share information on the different fields of snow algal research. This seems sensible as a resource for strain data and possible sources for the supply of such strains. Links to websites covering other disciplines in polar research might be useful (e.g. climate and geological data).

How is it envisaged that the required logistic support will be secured?
Own support

The logistics required for the project (organisation of the summer school) will be coordinated by our institute in cooperation with another international participant.

Has the project been "endorsed" at a national or international level?
The proposal has been submitted to the German IPY commission. An endorsement is being requested on their meeting on 11 Jan 2005.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND STRUCTURE

Is the project a short-term expansion (over the IPY 2007-2008 timeframe) of an existing plan, programme or initiative or is it a new autonomous proposal?
New
The proposed summer school will be a new autonomous project.

How will the project be organised and managed?
The proposed summer school with talks and workshops is planned to be self-managed and organised. A new institute building is currently being constructed for the Fraunhofer IBMT and will be finished in 2006. The building will be equipped with all necessary facilities (lecture and seminar rooms, cold plant culture rooms and cabinets, molecular and biotechnology labs, cryopreservation facilities).Coordination of finances can be coordinated by the institute’s own administration or via the main office of the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft in Munich (Germany).

What are the initial plans of the project for addressing the education, outreach and communication issues outlined in the Framework document?
The summer school (talks and workshops) will explicitly invite students to inspire them for research in polar and alpine environments. The website is intended to become a persistent platform for snow algal research, also when the official IPY is over in 2008.

What are the initial plans of the project to address data management issues (as outlined in the Framework document)?
The data acquired will primarily refer to snow algal strains cultured at individual institutes and it seems appropriate to make these data available via a separate website. Links will be set to other algal collections (UTEX, SAG, CCAP…) and vice versa to reach science, but also industry.

How is it proposed to fund the project?
Funding is expected by the German institutions DFG (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) and BMBF (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung), but also through the European Union agencies.

Is there additional information you wish to provide?
A reference letter of Dr. Phil Novis is attached. Prof. Dr. C. Lütz (University Insbruck, Austria) as well as Mgr. L. Nedbalová (Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic) have offered to help organising the summer school.

PROPOSER DETAILS

Dr Thomas Leya
Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering (IBMT)
Branch Medical Biotechnology (AMBT), Group Extremophile Research
Invalidenstraße 42, Berlin
10115
Germany

Tel: +49-30-2093.8350
Mobile:
Fax: +49-30-2093.8635
Email:

Other project members and their affiliation

Other Information