Earlham Institute

This week saw the first in our new annual lecture series honouring Dame Janet Thornton. We welcomed Prof Elinor K. Karlsson to the Earlham Institute on Monday 25 to hear about an international collaboration to discover the genomic basis of shared and specialized traits in mammals. The #ZoonomiaProject, one of the largest comparative genetic resources to date, is unlocking and comparing secrets in the DNA of mammals across the world - including humans. Before the lecture Prof Karlsson and Prof Thornton also had a chance to meet staff from across the Earlham Institute, including our Researchers’ Forum and our PhD Student Body. Prof Neil Hall, DIrector of the Earlham Institute, introduced the lecture series and Prof Thornton. He praised her significant achievements in #protein #bioinformatics and #computationalbiology, as well as her critical role in the development of the Earlham Institute as Chair of the Board of Trustees from 2017 to 2022. Introducing Prof Karlsson, Prof Thornton shared her hopes for the new lecture series, sharing her ambition to “show us a vision of the future of data science”. Prof Karlsson described how the Zoonomia Project compared more than 240 mammalian species spanning over 100 million years of evolutionary history. It found that about 11 per cent of the human genome is evolving unusually slowly. She explained this can help us find the genetic changes responsible for human diseases. Despite having similar genomes, some mammals do not suffer from diseases or environmental factors which affect humans. Finding the genes responsible could mean we are able to track and potentially medicate these conditions. “We want to identify functionally important aspects of the genome,” Prof Karlsson said. “Finding genetic variants in other species that protect them from key diseases potentially allows us to develop new targeted medicines.”

NEWS: Western diets, which tend to be high in ultra processed foods and animal protein, have been linked to an increased risk of developing metabolic and liver diseases. But little is known about the influence of dietary protein on #immunity. A new study from the Earlham Institute, Quadram Institute, and UEA suggests low protein diets disrupt or shield against some of the infection machinery deployed by #salmonella. Read more about the research in the Newsroom on our website: https://okt.to/pqNPHX #diet #health #lowprotein

Great to join the John Innes Centre and Norwich Research Park partners for the Find my Future event today. Led by JIC, the event introduces Year 8 students to #STEMcareers, with researchers and technicians on hand to chat about their career paths. We'll be there to share and explore the world of #genomics, showcasing research from Dr Melissa Salmon, using a "gene insertion" keyring to demonstrate how we can reprogramme plants to produce small molecules of natural products.

Our most recent paper is out! Great team work with #Berazalab at QIB and #Rushworthlab at UEA. Many thanks to co-authors and our funders!

📽️ If you missed our webinar with Vizgen you can now watch the recording on demand. Researchers at the Earlham Institute have been innovating with spatial transcriptomics technologies, working with a range of challenging tissue and cell types to answer fundamental biological questions. In the webinar, scientists Iain Macaulay, Sonia Fonseca and Ashleigh Lister from the Earlham Institute shared their journey of working with the Vizgen #MERSCOPE, offering insights on optimising the #SpatialTranscriptomics platform for their work in non-model samples. https://okt.to/PMdYG0

𝗨𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱𝘀 🧬🦠 There are estimated to be at least a trillion species* of #microorganisms populating our planet, and 99.9 per cent of them are still undiscovered. Sorting and sequencing the microscopic members of these communities sounds like a daunting task - but it’s one Yash Bancil, a third-year PhD student in the Iain Macaulay lab at the Earlham Institute, has been devoting his time to. His project involves using the Institute’s innovative #singlecell technologies to develop methods for unravelling the #genomic and functional complexities of very different #microbiomes. ➡️ https://okt.to/qaCYFy Centre for Microbial Interactions NRPDTP Doctoral Training Partnership *Rappuoli R, et.al One Health Outlook. 2023

#InsideEI: In the #soil under our feet, a vast web of #microscopic life exists, encompassing minerals, organic matter, gases, water, and living organisms including insects, microbes, and fungi. 🍄 #Fungi are a vital part of nature’s life cycle, and provide innumerable benefits to our world. They can also travel long distances, remain dormant for years, and are extremely adaptable. These advantages give them everything they need to be a major destroyer of crops. 🌱 Dr Rowena Hill is a Postdoctoral Scientist at the Earlham Institute, studying the evolution and diversity of an important wheat root fungus - Take-all - which destroys around a fifth of wheat yield annually in the UK. 💬 “Little is known about how far the fungus spreads, or its geographical range.” Rowena joined the Institute following PhD research at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and is using her genomics expertise to understand why some fungi are harmful to organisms while others are neutral or even helpful. 🧬 💬 “I first got into fungal research by volunteering in the fungarium collections at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew during the summer break of my first year of university. I got hooked, and ended up returning as an undergraduate placement student, then a research assistant and finally doing my PhD there.” Addressing global challenges in #foodsecurity is a key theme of the Earlham Institute’s multidisciplinary research. Rowena’s research - in collaboration with Rothamsted Research - is part of a wider UK collaboration called Delivering Sustainable Wheat, led by the John Innes Centre. 💬 “There’s still so much we don’t know about fungi, which means you can find new and interesting things anywhere you look. I’m also a big data nerd, so I love that I get to explore data all day, and I especially enjoy figuring out how best to visualise data to clearly communicate my findings.” #Plantpathogen work at the Earlham Institute uses our expertise in data-driven science to uncover insights into pathogens and hosts, supporting the #agritech industry to adapt and innovate solutions. 💬 “The Institute is an incredibly supportive place to work, I feel lucky that I get to work somewhere with such great people and healthy work culture.” #genomics #cropscience #fungi #EarlhamInstitute #agriculture #pangenome #postdoclife

Four BBSRC Institutes have received a strategic investment from a new Connecting Culture Fund. The Earlham Institute will lead on a key strand of the programme bringing together all eight BBSRC-funded Institutes for the Connecting #ResearchCulture Conference next year. Organised by the Earlham Institute and co-designed with other institutes, the conference aims to build further support for research culture networks by connecting UK institutes with colleagues from partner universities. Professor Candy Rowe, Chair of BBSRC’s EDI Expert Advisory Group (EAG), who is one of the Connecting Research Culture Conference speakers, said: "The recent developments in BBSRC’s research culture initiatives highlight a real commitment to creating an inclusive and supportive environment. "By engaging with minoritised groups through targeted networks and programmes, BBSRC is not only addressing under-representation but also enriching the entire bioscience ecosystem with diverse perspectives and experiences. "Along with members of the EDI EAG, I’m looking forward to continuing guiding BBSRC’s efforts towards a more equitable and collaborative research culture over the next year. I’m sure we will learn a great deal from the work ongoing across our communities." https://okt.to/GBSH3L UK Research and Innovation Siobhan Dorai-Raj Christine Fosker Sarah Cossey

𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗶𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴… 𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗶𝗰𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗶𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 🦠 “After a long life together, there are literally more #microbial similarities you share with your chosen partner than with anyone else on this planet.” Dr Falk Hildebrand leads a group of researchers across the Earlham Institute and Quadram Institute investigating the diversity of the microbial ecosystems in our gut. Read more about his work in our latest article: https://okt.to/eWlvxP #MicrobiomeHealth #Microbiome #GutMicrobiota

Did you know we're also on Bluesky Social. 🔷 In addition to LinkedIn, the growing platform offers us another great opportunity to connect, share and discuss the latest research, technology, and applications in #genomics, bioinformatics, and data-intensive #bioscience. Find us here: https://okt.to/w1PHFz Connect with members of the Earlham Institute community through our starter pack: https://okt.to/Ogxw8p