EpiCass and CassavaNet4Dev advanced bioinformatics workshop

EpiCass and CassavaNet4Dev are collaborative projects funded by the Swedish Research Council between the Swedish University of Agriculture (SLU) and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). The projects aim to investigate the influence of epigenetic changes on agricultural traits...

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Main Authors: Gisel, A., Stavolone, L., Olagunju, T., Landi, M., Damme, R. van, Niazi, A., Falquet, L., Shah, T., Bongcam-Rudloff, E.
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: EMBnet Stichting 2023
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/132149
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author Gisel, A.
Stavolone, L.
Olagunju, T.
Landi, M.
Damme, R. van
Niazi, A.
Falquet, L.
Shah, T.
Bongcam-Rudloff, E.
author_browse Bongcam-Rudloff, E.
Damme, R. van
Falquet, L.
Gisel, A.
Landi, M.
Niazi, A.
Olagunju, T.
Shah, T.
Stavolone, L.
author_facet Gisel, A.
Stavolone, L.
Olagunju, T.
Landi, M.
Damme, R. van
Niazi, A.
Falquet, L.
Shah, T.
Bongcam-Rudloff, E.
author_sort Gisel, A.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description EpiCass and CassavaNet4Dev are collaborative projects funded by the Swedish Research Council between the Swedish University of Agriculture (SLU) and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). The projects aim to investigate the influence of epigenetic changes on agricultural traits such as yield and virus resistance while also providing African students and researchers with advanced bioinformatics training and opportunities to participate in big data analysis events. The first advanced bioinformatics training workshop took place from May 16th to May 18th, 2022, followed by an online mini-symposium titled "Epigenetics and crop improvement" on May 19th. The symposium featured international speakers covering a wide range of topics related to plant epigenetics, cassava viral diseases, and cassava breeding strategies. A new online and on-site teaching concept was developed for the three-day workshop to ensure maximum student participation across Western, Eastern, and Southern Africa. Initially planned in Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Zambia, the workshop ultimately focused on Nigeria, Kenya, and Ethiopia due to a lack of qualified candidates in the other countries. Each classroom hosted 20 to 25 students, with at least one bioinformatician present for support. The classrooms were connected via video conferencing, whereas teachers located in different places in Africa and Europe joined the video stream to conduct teaching sessions. The workshop was divided into theoretical classes and hands-on sessions, where participants could run data analysis with support from online teachers and local bioinformaticians. To enable participants to run guided, CPU and RAM-intensive data analysis workflows and overcome local computing and internet access restrictions, a system of virtual machines (VMs) hosted in the cloud was developed. The teaching platform provided teaching and exercise materials to support the use of the VMs. Although some students could not run heavy data analysis workflows due to unforeseen restrictions in the cloud, these issues were solved. All participants had the opportunity to run the analysis steps independently in the cloud using the protocols hosted on the teaching platform.
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institution CGIAR Consortium
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publishDate 2023
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spelling CGSpace1321492025-11-11T11:07:52Z EpiCass and CassavaNet4Dev advanced bioinformatics workshop Gisel, A. Stavolone, L. Olagunju, T. Landi, M. Damme, R. van Niazi, A. Falquet, L. Shah, T. Bongcam-Rudloff, E. next generation sequencing epigenetics plant biology cassava EpiCass and CassavaNet4Dev are collaborative projects funded by the Swedish Research Council between the Swedish University of Agriculture (SLU) and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). The projects aim to investigate the influence of epigenetic changes on agricultural traits such as yield and virus resistance while also providing African students and researchers with advanced bioinformatics training and opportunities to participate in big data analysis events. The first advanced bioinformatics training workshop took place from May 16th to May 18th, 2022, followed by an online mini-symposium titled "Epigenetics and crop improvement" on May 19th. The symposium featured international speakers covering a wide range of topics related to plant epigenetics, cassava viral diseases, and cassava breeding strategies. A new online and on-site teaching concept was developed for the three-day workshop to ensure maximum student participation across Western, Eastern, and Southern Africa. Initially planned in Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Zambia, the workshop ultimately focused on Nigeria, Kenya, and Ethiopia due to a lack of qualified candidates in the other countries. Each classroom hosted 20 to 25 students, with at least one bioinformatician present for support. The classrooms were connected via video conferencing, whereas teachers located in different places in Africa and Europe joined the video stream to conduct teaching sessions. The workshop was divided into theoretical classes and hands-on sessions, where participants could run data analysis with support from online teachers and local bioinformaticians. To enable participants to run guided, CPU and RAM-intensive data analysis workflows and overcome local computing and internet access restrictions, a system of virtual machines (VMs) hosted in the cloud was developed. The teaching platform provided teaching and exercise materials to support the use of the VMs. Although some students could not run heavy data analysis workflows due to unforeseen restrictions in the cloud, these issues were solved. All participants had the opportunity to run the analysis steps independently in the cloud using the protocols hosted on the teaching platform. 2023 2023-10-05T13:32:21Z 2023-10-05T13:32:21Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/132149 en Open Access application/pdf EMBnet Stichting Gisel, A., Stavolone, L., Olagunju, T., Landi, M., van Damme, R., Niazi, A., ... & Bongcam-Rudloff, E. (2023). EpiCass and CassavaNet4Dev advanced bioinformatics workshop. EMBnet. journal, 29: 1045, 1-6.
spellingShingle next generation sequencing
epigenetics
plant biology
cassava
Gisel, A.
Stavolone, L.
Olagunju, T.
Landi, M.
Damme, R. van
Niazi, A.
Falquet, L.
Shah, T.
Bongcam-Rudloff, E.
EpiCass and CassavaNet4Dev advanced bioinformatics workshop
title EpiCass and CassavaNet4Dev advanced bioinformatics workshop
title_full EpiCass and CassavaNet4Dev advanced bioinformatics workshop
title_fullStr EpiCass and CassavaNet4Dev advanced bioinformatics workshop
title_full_unstemmed EpiCass and CassavaNet4Dev advanced bioinformatics workshop
title_short EpiCass and CassavaNet4Dev advanced bioinformatics workshop
title_sort epicass and cassavanet4dev advanced bioinformatics workshop
topic next generation sequencing
epigenetics
plant biology
cassava
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/132149
work_keys_str_mv AT gisela epicassandcassavanet4devadvancedbioinformaticsworkshop
AT stavolonel epicassandcassavanet4devadvancedbioinformaticsworkshop
AT olagunjut epicassandcassavanet4devadvancedbioinformaticsworkshop
AT landim epicassandcassavanet4devadvancedbioinformaticsworkshop
AT dammervan epicassandcassavanet4devadvancedbioinformaticsworkshop
AT niazia epicassandcassavanet4devadvancedbioinformaticsworkshop
AT falquetl epicassandcassavanet4devadvancedbioinformaticsworkshop
AT shaht epicassandcassavanet4devadvancedbioinformaticsworkshop
AT bongcamrudloffe epicassandcassavanet4devadvancedbioinformaticsworkshop