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[NdP-EN]: The citizen science mobile laboratory of the Citizen Fly Lab workshop brings the PCR technique to classrooms in Barcelona, Badalona, and Mollet del Vallès

From May 18th to June 7th, secondary and high school students and teachers from Barcelona are participating in the citizen science mobile laboratory of the Citizen Fly Lab workshop. This workshop allows the experimental validation of mobile elements discovered in the genome of Drosophila melanogaster (the fruit fly), using basic molecular biology techniques (PCR and electrophoresis)

The mobile laboratory of the Citizen Fly Lab is located within the facilities of the Institut Milà i Fontanals in El Raval. In this first iteration, the participants are 26 students in their 4th year of secondary and high studies from different schools in Barcelona and its area metropolitana: Institut Milà i Fontanals (Barcelona), Institut Doctor Puigvert (Barcelona), Institut Barres i Ones (Badalona), Escola Infant Jesús (Barcelona), Col·legi Sant Joan Bosco (Barcelona) and Escola de Sant Gervasi Cooperativa (Mollet del Vallès).

The Citizen Fly Lab workshop has been developed as part of the citizen science project Melanogaster: Catch The Fly! (#MelanogasterCTF).

#MelanogasterCTF is a citizen science project in which students and teachers from all over Spain and other European countries contribute under a common scientific objective to our understanding of how organisms adapt to the environment by collecting and classifying flies of the genus Drosophila from fields close to their schools. Currently, in the #MelanogasterCTF project involves twelve Spanish schools, one German, two Ukrainian and one French school. Citizen Fly Lab has been launched to promote and increase citizen participation in the parts of the analysis that occur after the initial collection and classification of Drosophila samples.

Citizen Fly Lab is a mobile molecular biology laboratory that allows secondary and high school students to participate in the experimental validation of data obtained by scientists. The students validate the presence of mobile elements in the genome of natural populations of the fruit fly by using the PCR technique. Mobile elements are DNA fragments with the ability to move from one position to another in the genome, generating a large amount of mutations. Therefore, their identification is highly relevant to the study of adaptation, because some of these mutations can prove to be adaptive.

The Citizen Fly Lab mobile molecular biology laboratory contains all the materials needed to carry out the extraction, amplification and visualization of the DNA of the biological samples that need to be analyzed. Specifically, it consists of a DNA amplification machine (PCR), an electrophoresis gel for visualizing the results, as well as pipettes and reagents needed to conduct the experiment. Participants contribute in all the processes required for the validation of the mobile elements: from the design of primers needed to carry out the PCR using bioinformatics programs, to the analysis and the interpretation of the generated data in order to reach conclusions that are then communicated to scientists.

The Citizen Fly Lab workshop also includes a virtual theoretical session prior to the experimental session, in which the scientific relevance of the citizen science project #MelanogasterCTF is explained. Likewise, in this session the basic concepts of evolutionary biology (adaptation, genetic variability, mutations and mobile elements) and the experimental techniques that the participants will use are also introduced.

The Citizen Fly Lab is conducted by Dra. Miriam Merenciano, postdoctoral researcher at the Evolutionary and Functional Genomics Laboratory of the Institute of Evolutionary Biology (IBE, CSIC-UPF), and led by Dr. Josefa González, scientific director of #MelanogasterCTF. Citizen Fly Lab is an activity that takes place within the citizen science project #MelanogasterCTF, which is organized by the Evolutionary and Functional Genomics Laboratory of the Institute of Evolutionary Biology (IBE, CSIC-UPF) and the scientific dissemination platform Science in Your World (LCATM). The project is done with the collaboration of the Genomics, Bioinformatics and Evolution (GGBE) Group from the Department of Genetics and Microbiology at the UAB and the European Drosophila Population Genomics Consortium (DrosEU). This project is publicly funded by the European Research Council (ERC), the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT) and the CSIC General Foundation (FGCSIC).

 

Press release [PDF]:

[NdP-ENG] Citizen science adapts to COVID-19: 14 schools from Spain and Germany are committed to researching how organisms adapt to new environments

  • 250 students and more than 60 international laboratories participate in collecting biological samples for the citizen science project ‘Melanogaster, Catch The Fly!’

  • Results that have already been obtained include the discovery of the ‘Tomelloso virus’ and the first European map of genetic variation in Drosophila melanogaster.

  • Citizen science protocols have been fully adapted to comply with the hygiene and physical distance measures imposed by COVID-19.

 

Despite COVID-19, the beginning of summer will kick off the fifth sampling campaign for the citizen science project ‘Melanogaster: Catch the Fly! ” (#MelanogasterCTF). Between July and October, more than 15 teachers and 250 students from schools in rural areas from 6 Spanish regions and the German state of Baden-Württemberg will be collaborating with scientists by collecting, classifying, and analyzing biological samples of Drosophila (fruit fly) from nearby cultivated fields. The project has adapted its protocols to comply with hygiene and physical distancing measures that will ensure the safety of all participants.

The #MelanogasterCTF citizen science project, led by the Evolutionary and Functional Genomics Laboratory (González Lab) of the Institute of Evolutionary Biology (CSIC-UPF, Barcelona); ​​and the scientific communication association, La Ciència al Teu Món (Science in your World), allows us to study the genomic basis of adaptation –  which consists of the changes in the organism’s genetic information that allow them to adapt to the environment. The fundamental question that requires answering is: how do organisms adapt genetically to new environments? Answering this question has ramifications for multiple applications that affect the whole of society, such as understanding how viruses adapt to new organisms; a question of particular relevance today in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

#MelanogasterCTF contributes directly to the objectives of the European Drosophila Population Genomics Consortium, DrosEU, which has 61 laboratories in 29 countries from Europe, America, the Middle East, and Oceania. The collection and classification of Drosophila (fruit fly) samples by students, teachers, and other citizen scientists participating in #MelanogasterCTF, facilitates, accelerates, and economizes the research process by allowing professional scientists to focus in the genetic data analysis and data interpretation. The work of the DrosEU network, in collaboration with the #MelanogasterCTF project, has already provided us with some interesting results, such as the discovery of the “Tomelloso virus”, which infects Drosophila melanogaster; or the creation of the first European map of the genetic variation found in this species. 

For each sampling campaign of the #MelanogasterCTF project, students and teachers go to nearby orchards, where they catch Drosophila (fruit flies) next to fallen fruit, which is not useful as food. In order to do this, they use materials provided or inspired by the project, such as entomological aspirators and traps built with embroidery taborets. The drosophila are then put to sleep and classified according to their sex (female or male) and species: Drosophila melanogaster, Drosophila simulans, Drosophila suzukii, or another. This is done in the high school’s laboratories, either with the high school’s own magnifying glasses or with devices created by the #MelanogasterCTF project, which go by the name of Magni-Fly. These devices allow us to turn any smartphone into a suitable magnifying glass. Once classified, the drosophila are sent to the scientific laboratories to have their DNA analyzed and sequenced. It is important that we carry out these collections every year, in order to be able to follow the changes in the environment and how they relate to the new generations of flies and their genetic variation.

From its inception in 2016, #MelanogasterCTF has grown from two Spanish schools, in Baza and Tomelloso, to the current total of 14 participating schools in 6 Spanish regions (Andalusia, Aragon, Castilla-La Mancha, Catalonia, Navarre, and the Valencian Community). In the lastest 2019 edition, the German school of Justus von Liebig in the municipality of Waldshut-Tiengen (Baden-Württenberg), in the heart of the Black Forest, also joined #MelanogasterCTF. We are now also preparing to incorporate new schools from France, Italy, Portugal, Serbia, and Turkey.

#MelanogasterCTF: an expanding project

The #MelanogasterCTF team encourages all educational centers, teachers, and students to be part of this project that allows you to come into direct contact with leading international research. We also invite current participants in the project to involve their friends, neighbors, agricultural stakeholders, and related entities (e.g. environmental protection); since this will allow us to expand the magnitude of the project and your actions. Finally, we remind you that the project is open to other countries, whether they are in Europe, South America, or the rest of the world. You can contact us via the Contact section, or through email at rtorres@fruitfly.eu

#MelanogasterCTF adapts to COVID-19

Given the circumstances that society is going through during the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s sampling campaign is expected to be special. The original protocol for capturing biological samples works well within protective measures against COVID-19, as it requires that participants collect as far away from each other as possible, in order to ensure that the captured Drosophila (fruit flies) are representative of the whole Drosophila (fruit fly) population inhabiting that field. In addition, the participants will either work as individuals or be organized into small groups, in order to keep the correct physical distance. Official protocols and safety recommendations – such as maintaining a safe distance and wearing a mask – will be followed at all times. In addition, entomological aspiration will be performed individually, the fieldwork materials will not be shared, and all materials will be disinfected between use by different people.

About #MelanogasterCTF#MelanogasterCTF

This citizen science project proposes a synergistic collaboration between scientists and schools and institutes. In this project, scientists prepare educational materials about our scientific objectives, while training teachers and students in the use of techniques that allow the sampling, classification, and analysis of the study organisms, the Drosophila (fruit flies). The project allows scientists to access a number of biological samples (flies) that would have otherwise been impossible, or much more costly in time, money, and material resources to obtain. For teachers and students, the project represents an opportunity to become part of a truly international scientific research project, working as scientific citizens hand in hand with professional scientists. The scientific objective of the project is to study the genomic basis for adaptation, which consists of the changes in genetic information that allow organisms to adapt to the environment. The #MelanogasterCTF project has the support and funding of the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT) and the European Research Council (ERC).

Contact

Josefa González – Evolutionary and Functional Genomics Laboratory (IBE, CSIC-UPF)
josefa.gonzalez@ibe.upf-csic.es
+34638182935
https://www.biologiaevolutiva.org/gonzalez_lab/ 

Roberto Torres – La Ciència Al Teu Món
rtorres@fruitfly.eu
+34691534980
https://melanogaster.eu 

Press release and images
  • Press release (English): [PDF]
  • Press release (Catalan): [PDF]
  • Press release (Spanish): [PDF] 
  • Imágenes:

MCTF Web 2020 Post CC Brilla Galería Fb Baza26

MCTF Web 2020 Post CC Brilla artículo2

MCTF Granada Fotos Trabajo 56

MCTF Granada Fotos Trabajo 57

MCTF Web 2020 Girls Tech 9

MCTF Web 2020 Girls Tech 8

MCTF Web 2020 Girls Tech 1

[NdP-CAT] La ciència ciutadana s’adapta a la COVID-19: 14 escoles d’Espanya i Alemanya compromeses per investigar com s’adapten els éssers vius a nous ambients

  • 250 alumnes i més de 60 laboratoris internacionals participen a la recol·lecció de mostres biològiques del projecte de ciència ciutadana ‘Melanogaster, Catch The Fly!’

  • Ja s’han obtingut resultats com el descobriment del ‘virus Tomelloso’ o la realització del primer mapa europeu de la variació genètica en Drosophila melanogaster. 

  • Els protocols de ciència ciutadana s’han adaptat completament a les mesures d’higiene i distància física imposades per la COVID-19.

 

Tot i la COVID-19, el principi de l’estiu dona el tret de sortida per cinquè any consecutiu a la campanya de recol·lecció de mostres biològiques del projecte de ciència ciutadana ‘Melanogaster: Catch the Fly!’ (#MelanogasterCTF). Entre el juliol i l’octubre, més de 15 professor(e)s i 250 estudiants de centres educatius de zones rurals en 6 comunitats autònomes de l’Estat espanyol i l’estat alemany de Baden-Württemberg col·laboraran amb científics recollint, classificant i analitzant mostres biològiques de Drosophila (mosca de la fruita) en camps de cultiu de la seva zona. Per a això, el projecte ha adaptat els seus protocols amb les mesures d’higiene i distància física que asseguren la protecció de tot(e)s els i les participants.

El projecte de ciència ciutadana #MelanogasterCTF, liderat pel Laboratori de Genòmica Evolutiva i Funcional (González Lab) de l’Institut de Biologia Evolutiva (CSIC-UPF) de Barcelona, i l’associació de comunicació científica ‘La Ciència Al Teu Món’ (LCATM), permet estudiar la base genòmica de l’adaptació, és a dir, els canvis en la informació genètica gràcies als quals els éssers vius s’adapten al seu ambient. La pregunta fonamental a resoldre és: com s’adapten genèticament els organismes a nous entorns? Encara que sigui una pregunta de ciència bàsica, la seva resposta té ramificacions amb aplicacions importants per al conjunt de la societat: resposta al canvi climàtic, espècies invasores i plagues; resistència dels bacteris als antibiòtics o d’altres cèl·lules als fàrmacs (p.ex. quimioteràpies); i fins i tot comprendre com els virus s’adapten a nous organismes, d’especial rellevància actualment en el context de la pandèmia de COVID-19 causada pel virus SARS-CoV-2. 

El projecte de ciència ciutadana #MelanogasterCTF col·labora activament amb la xarxa europea d’investigació en genòmica de poblacions de Drosophila, DrosEU, que compta amb 61 laboratoris a 29 països d’Europa, Amèrica, Orient Mitjà i Oceania, i està coordinada també per González Lab. La recol·lecció i classificació de mostres de Drosophila (mosca de la fruita) realitzada per estudiants, professorat i altres científics ciutadans participants en #MelanogasterCTF facilita, accelera i economitza el procés de recollida de mostres, permetent que els científics es centrin a l’anàlisi genètica i la interpretació de les dades. El treball de la xarxa DrosEU en col·laboració amb el projecte #MelanogasterCTF ja ha obtingut interessants resultats, com el descobriment del ‘virus Tomelloso’, que infecta Drosophila melanogaster, o la realització del primer mapa europeu de la variació genètica en aquesta espècie. 

A cada campanya de col·lectes del projecte #MelanogasterCTF, estudiants i professor(e)s es desplacen a camps de cultiu propers als seus centres educatius, on atrapen les drosòfiles (mosques de la fruita) al costat de fruites que hagin caigut dels arbres i no siguin útils com aliment. Per això compten amb material proporcionat o inspirat pel projecte, com aspiradors entomològics i trampes amb bastidors de brodar. Les drosòfiles s’adormen, i posteriorment es classifiquen segons el seu sexe (mascles o femelles) i espècie: Drosophila melanogaster, Drosophila simulans, Drosophila suzukii, o altres espècies. Això es fa als laboratoris dels centres educatius, bé amb lupes dels propis laboratoris o amb dispositius creats pel projecte #MelanogasterCTF, que reben el nom de Magni-Fly i converteixen qualsevol smartphone en una lupa que permet diferenciar entre espècies i sexes de les mosques. Un cop classificades, les drosòfiles s’envien als laboratoris científics per seqüenciar i analitzar el seu ADN. És important realitzar aquestes col·lectes cada any, per poder seguir els canvis en l’ambient i com es relacionen amb les noves generacions de mosques i la seva variació genètica.

#MelanogasterCTF ha anat creixent progressivament des del seu inici pioner l’any 2016 amb dues escoles espanyoles, a Baza i Tomelloso, fins a les actuals 14 escoles participants en 6 comunitats autònomes diferents (Andalusia, Aragó, Castella-la Manxa, Catalunya, Navarra i Comunitat Valenciana). A la passada edició 2019, es va incorporar també l’escola alemanya Justus von Liebig, al municipi de Waldshut-Tiengen (Baden-Württemberg), en plena Selva Negra. En futures edicions, s’estudia la incorporació de noves escoles a França, Itàlia, Portugal, Sèrbia, Turquia i altres països.

#MelanogasterCTF: un projecte en expansió

Des de l’organització de #MelanogasterCTF s’anima a tots els centres educatius, professorat i estudiants, a formar part d’aquesta experiència, que permet entrar en contacte directe amb la investigació internacional capdavantera. També es convida els i les actuals participants a involucrar les seves amistats, veïn(e)s, agents del sector agrícola i entitats relacionades (p.ex. organitzacions de protecció de l’entorn), ja que això permet ampliar la magnitud del projecte i de les accions dels participants. Finalment, es recorda que el projecte està obert a altres països, tant d’Europa com d’Amèrica del Sud i de la resta del món. Es pot contactar amb l’organització de #MelanogasterCTF a través del correu rtorres@fruitfly.eu.

#MelanogasterCTF s’adapta a la COVID-19

Donades les circumstàncies que travessa tota la societat amb la pandèmia de COVID-19, aquest any es preveu que la campanya tingui característiques especials. El protocol original de captura de mostres biològiques funciona bé dins les mesures de protecció contra la COVID-19, ja que requereix que les i els participants es distribueixin pel camp de cultiu per assegurar que la mostra de drosòfiles (mosques) recol·lectada és representativa de tota la població de drosòfiles (mosques) que habiten el camp. Aquest any els participants recol·lectaran les drosòfiles (mosques) de forma individual i no en parelles, per mantenir la distància de seguretat. Els grups d’alumnes que es desplacin fins els camps de cultiu seran també més reduïts. A més de l’obligació de mantenir la distància de seguretat i utilitzar mascaretes en tot moment, no es compartirà el material de la col·lecta al camp, i es desinfectarà el material abans de tornar a utilitzar-lo. 

Sobre #MelanogasterCTF

El projecte de ciència ciutadana #MelanogasterCTF proposa la col·laboració sinèrgica entre científics i escoles i instituts. Els científics preparen materials educatius sobre l’objectiu científic del projecte, alhora que ensenyen a professor(e)s i estudiants l’ús de tècniques que permeten recollir, classificar i analitzar els organismes d’estudi, les drosòfiles (mosques de la fruita). El projecte permet que els científics accedeixin a una quantitat de mostres biològiques (mosques) que d’altra manera seria impossible, o molt més costós en temps, diners i recursos materials. Per al professorat i estudiants, el projecte suposa l’oportunitat d’integrar-se en un projecte internacional d’investigació científica actiu, treballant com a ciutadans científics mà a mà amb els científics professionals. L’objectiu científic del projecte és estudiar la base genòmica de l’adaptació, és a dir, els canvis en la informació genètica que permeten que els organismes s’adaptin a l’ambient. El projecte #MelanogasterCTF compta amb el suport i el finançament de la Fundació Espanyola per a la Ciència i la Tecnologia (FECYT) i el Consell Europeu d’Investigacions (ERC).

Contacte

Josefa González – Laboratori de Genòmica Evolutiva i Funcional (IBE, CSIC-UPF)
josefa.gonzalez@ibe.upf-csic.es
+34638182935
https://www.biologiaevolutiva.org/gonzalez_lab/ 

Roberto Torres – La Ciència Al Teu Món
rtorres@fruitfly.eu
+34691534980
https://melanogaster.eu 

Nota de premsa i imatges
  • En català: [PDF]
  • En castellà: [PDF]
  • Imatges:

MCTF Web 2020 Post CC Brilla Galería Fb Baza26

MCTF Web 2020 Post CC Brilla artículo2

MCTF Granada Fotos Trabajo 56

MCTF Granada Fotos Trabajo 57

MCTF Web 2020 Girls Tech 9

MCTF Web 2020 Girls Tech 8

MCTF Web 2020 Girls Tech 1

IES José de Mora participates in the Melanogaster Catch The Fly! …

José de Mora High School participates in the Melanogaster Catch The Fly! project, in the framework of the first European network of citizen science in adaptation genomics. #MelanogasterCTF is a European citizen science project in which researchers, communicators, teachers, primary and secondary students and citizens work with the common goal of understanding how organisms adapt to the environment, taking as a model the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster.

(Continue reading on the website of the Baza municipality.) [Spanish]

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Collecting flies for a European scientific project

STUDENTS FROM THE BENJAMÍN DE TUDELA HIGH SCHOOL COLLABORATE WITH 15 COUNTRIES AND ANALYZE HOW INSECTS ADAPT

Students in the 4th year of ESO, 1st and 2nd year of Baccalaureate Science of the Benjamín de Tudela High School participate for the first time in the European project Melanogaster, Catch the fly!, first European Network of Citizen Science in Adaptation Genomics. Researchers from more than 15 countries participate in the project, as well as communicators, teachers and students from Primary and Secondary education, with the objective to understand how organisms adapt to the environment, taking as a model the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster).

(Continue reading in Noticias de Navarra.) [Spanish]

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Historical day for the Eladio Cabañero high school with a presentation of #MelanogasterCTF Citizen Science

Professors and students of the center have made an excellent contribution, which eventually enabled the discovery of the Tomelloso virus.

The Eladio Cabañero high school of Tomelloso had a historic day yesterday, with the presentation of the #MelanogasterCTF citizen science project, of which students and teachers from the center have made a great contribution. The project, which began in October 2016 with the participation of over 200 students, has involved researching the adaptation genomics of the so-called fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) in different environments. This methodical and rigorous work, endorsed by the European Network of Citizen Science, has led to the discovery of the so-called Tomelloso Virus.

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Melanogaster: Catch the Fly!

The Eladio Cabañero High School of Tomelloso lived yesterday a historic day with the presentation of the scientific project ‘Melanogaster: Catch the Fly!’ in the dependencies of the IRIAF (Regional Institute of Research and Agri-Food and Forest Development), also based in Tomelloso.

(Continue reading on the Eladio Cabañero High School website.) [Spanish]

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A scientific project in Tomelloso detects a fruit fly virus of biological interest, already called “Tomelloso Virus”.

The project has been carried out in its initial phase by professors from the Biology Department of the Eladio Cabañero High School, with the participation of more than 200 students. The project “Melanogaster: Catch the fly!” studies the well-known fruit fly, technically Drosophila melanogaster.

(Continue reading in ‘Cuadernos manchegos’.) [Spanish]

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This Saturday will be the presentation of “Melanogaster: Catch the Fly!”, a project in which the Eladio Cabañero High School of Tomelloso participates

This Saturday, March 9, at 6 PM and in the Assembly Hall of the IRIAF and IVICAM (former School of Foremen) of Tomelloso, the results of the project “Melanogaster: Catch the Fly!” will be presented. A project in which the Eladio Cabañero High School participates, together with the Institute of Evolutionary Biology dependent on the Spanish National Research Council and the Pompeu-Fabra University of Barcelona, ​​and with the collaboration of the Excellent City Council of Tomelloso.

(Continue reading on ‘Mancha Información’.) [Spanish] (more…)

Identified the crucial role of the mobile elements of DNA in the response to stress, development, and behavior

Researchers from the Institute of Evolutionary Biology, a joint center of the CSIC and UPF, have identified 300 mobile elements of DNA that contribute to adaptation to the environment, a key aspect to the evolution of species. Published in PLOS Genetics, it is the most extensive study to date, analyzing the mobile elements of DNA from 60 natural populations of fruit flies. The work sheds light on the adaptive mechanisms involved in stress response, embryonic development, or behavior.

(Continue reading on the CSIC website.) [Spanish]

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The Eladio Cabañero High School will present the results of an important citizen science project

On March 9, at 6:00 PM, the results of the “Melanogaster: Catch the Fly!” will be presented. It is an initiative in which the Eladio Cabañero High School participates, together with the Institute of Evolutionary Biology dependent on the Spanish National Research Council and the Pompeu-Fabra University of Barcelona, ​​and with the collaboration of the Most Excellent City Council of Tomelloso.

(Continue reading in The Voice of Tomelloso.) [Spanish]

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Television

Interview on the Tomelloso virus: teacher Antonio Buendía (IES Eladio Cabañero)

Tomelloso virus: radio spot