First COREMI Training School

The Training School titled 'Molecular and Morphological Identification of Mites Associated with the Red Poultry Mite' took place at the Rehovot campus of the R.H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem on 11-16 September 2016. Twenty-nine students and professionals attended from across the EU including Albania, Belgium, Croatia, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Macedonia, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain and United Kingdom. The course attracted participants from a diverse range of disciplines including exotic birds, wildlife conservation, microbiology and parasitology, molecular biology, veterinary medicine, poultry science and extension, integrated pest management, biological control, mite and spider taxonomy, and quarantine services.

The course began with formal presentations on the taxonomy and ecology of the main studied mite families given by Prof. Eddie Ueckermann (North-West University Potchefstroom, South Africa) and Prof. Maria Moraza (University of Navarra, Spain) and on the general approaches of morpho-molecular taxonomy, with a focus on the red poultry mite presented by Prof. Lise Roy (Université Paul Valéry, France). Via SKYPE, Ms. Monica Young (University of Guelph, Canada) presented standard protocols for DNA barcoding, summarizing with a demonstration of the BOLD website (http://www.barcodinglife.org/) utilizing the molecular barcodes and morphological identifications of the mite species especially prepared for the training school.

The hands on component of the course was dedicated to the morphological identification of the microscope slide preparations using the key tailor made for the training school by the three trainers. Here the expertise and endless patience of Prof. Ueckermann and Prof. Moraza was instrumental for the success of the course. The friendly atmosphere between all participating (trainers and trainees) was really quite unique and noted by the feedback of the participants (see below).

Summarized by the local organizers:

Prof. Yuval Gottlieb, Koret School of Veterinary Medicine, Israel; yuvalgd(at)yahoo.com

Dr. Eric Palevsky, Newe Yaar, Research Center, Agricultural Research Center, Israel; palevsky(at)volcani.agri.gov.il
Ms. Noa Schwarzwald, International School of Agricultural Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem; noapl(at)savion.huji.ac.il

Feedback from a few trainees:

It was wonderful to get to know you all. The training School went more than well and I’m waiting to see all of you again at a new training school.
As already said - amazing country, excellent hosts, unforgettable participants! Hope to see you all soon.
I would like to say that is was a real pleasure to meet everyone and share this experience with them. I could not have wished for a better start to my PhD studies or better colleagues for a training course. I hope to see you all again in the future!

Further Information

Contact

Noa Schwarzwald | Head of International Programs
The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Israel
T +972-89489996 | F +972-89470171
noapl(at)savion.huji.ac.il
Dr Eric Palevsky
Newe Yaar Research Center
Agricultural Research Center
Israel
T +972-506220111
palevsky(at)volcani.agri.gov.il

Download

Presentations

Presentation from Lise Roy (Part 1) (2.4 MB)
Presentation from Lise Roy (Part 2) (5.2 MB)
Presentation from Lise Roy (Part 3) (2.9 MB)
Presentation from Monica Young (9.3 MB)