EMBO Practical Course: Molecular Geobiology

This course will bring together early career researchers in the fields of geology, planetary science, micro- and molecular biology for an introduction to the interdisciplinary field of Geobiology. Participants will be introduced to a collaborative environment and the course will facilitate interaction between researchers in multiple fields who would otherwise have a limited opportunity to exchange ideas. One of the core objectives will be knowledge translation and mobilization. The principal themes include methods in field geobiology, integrating geochemical and biological data, interpretation across scales, nucleic acid extraction from rock samples, differences in resolution between field and laboratory data sets, and the importance of geobiology to astrobiology and origin of life studies. Participants will have the opportunity to conduct field research at the Ries impact structure to put into practice lessons learned regarding geobiology field work. This field excursion is a geobiological field trip to an impact structure and will be led by internationally renowned experts in impact cratering. Participants will come away with the ability to plan and conduct molecular biology research in rock-hosted microbial systems.

Topics: Introduction to geobiology, the Ries impact structure, Rock-associated microbial communities, Sequence data in geobiology, Geochemistry and mineralogy in geobiology, Introduction to geochemistry and mineralogy