The University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine (USAMV) Cluj-Napoca, through its Faculty of Animal Sciences and Biotechnology, in partnership with the University of Bucharest \u2013 Department of Genetics, Faculty of Biology, the summer school \u2018Structural and Functional Genomics: from Oxford Nanopore Technology sequencing to transcriptomic analysis\u2019, an intensive programme aimed at second- to fourth-year Biotechnology students, as well as master\u2019s and PhD students interested in the latest technologies used in structural genomics, transcriptomics and bioinformatics.<\/p>\n
Designed as a complete workflow, the workshop combined laboratory experiments with bioinformatic analysis over several days, offering participants a comprehensive practical experience, from the preparation of biological samples to the interpretation of data.<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s edition featured several firsts that transcend national borders. The first is the whole-genome sequencing of a local Romanian population of Drosophila suzukii<\/em>, starting from pupae.<\/p>\n \u201cUnlike most other Drosophila species, which develop only on rotting fruit, D. suzukii<\/em> is capable of laying eggs in ripe fruit, making it a major pest of a wide variety of species,\u00a0including both wild and ornamental fruit-bearing shrubs, as well as fruit tree species.\u00a0\u201cHaving already obtained sequencing data for the adult stage, researchers can now study the epigenetic differences, such as methylation, between the pupa and the adult,\u201d explains Associate Professor Attila Cristian Ra\u021biu, from the Faculty of Biology, University of Bucharest.<\/p>\n Another achievement involved conducting a transcriptomics experiment on single mutants of Drosophila melanogaster<\/em>, commonly known as the \u2018fruit fly\u2019, through which a gene network centred on the CG18135<\/em> gene was characterised \u2013 a first both nationally and globally.<\/p>\n To assess relative gene expression in a well-established experimental model (D. melanogaster<\/em>), the new Mic qPCR Cycler from Bio Molecular Systems was used for the first time in Romania.<\/p>\n \u201cThe participating students went through all the stages of a modern genomics experiment: DNA and RNA extraction, quality assessment and quantification by fluorimetry, Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) sequencing, reverse transcription of total RNA into cDNA, analysis of relative gene expression by Real-Time PCR (qRT-PCR), as well as a demonstration of the processes of base calling, de novo<\/em> assembly, scaffolding, mapping and the assessment of the quality of genomic assemblies\u201d, explains Prof. Dr Marius Z\u0103han, the initiator and one of the organisers of this workshop, alongside Assoc. Prof. Dr Attila Cristian Ra\u021biu (Faculty of Biology, Bucharest),\u00a0Assistant Professor Dr Gabriela Negrea-Baci and Dr Adriana Musc\u0103 (FZB Cluj-Napoca).<\/p>\n For students specialising in Biotechnologies, this summer school represented a particularly valuable opportunity to acquire practical skills in fields that are shaping the future of biotechnology. Genomics, transcriptomics and bioinformatics form the basis of modern research, with direct applications in medicine, agriculture, the pharmaceutical industry, food safety and environmental protection. Direct exposure to state-of-the-art technologies and methodologies used in current research gives participants a significant advantage in developing a career in research or industry.<\/p>\n By organising this summer school, to be held from 13 to 17 July 2026, the Faculty of Animal Sciences and Biotechnology reaffirms its commitment to promoting excellence in education and research, offering students access to innovative technologies, specialists and practical experiences that meet the highest standards in the field of biotechnology.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine (USAMV) Cluj-Napoca, through its Faculty of Animal Sciences and Biotechnology, in partnership with the University of Bucharest \u2013 Department of Genetics, Faculty of Biology, the summer school \u2018Structural and Functional Genomics: from Oxford Nanopore Technology sequencing to transcriptomic analysis\u2019, an intensive programme aimed at second- to fourth-year… citeste mai mult<\/a>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2768,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2769","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-evenimente"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usamvcluj.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2769","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usamvcluj.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usamvcluj.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usamvcluj.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usamvcluj.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2769"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.usamvcluj.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2769\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2770,"href":"https:\/\/www.usamvcluj.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2769\/revisions\/2770"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usamvcluj.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2768"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usamvcluj.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2769"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usamvcluj.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2769"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usamvcluj.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2769"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}