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Project SUS-MIRRI.IT
Project SUS-MIRRI.IT funded by Italy’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan
Microbial biobanks in Italy launch a €17M project to strengthen their activities in line with the country’s participation in MIRRI-ERIC
Torino (Italy) and Braga (Portugal), 14 November 2022
The project “Strengthening the MIRRI Italian Research Infrastructure for Sustainable Bioscience and Bioeconomy” (SUS-MIRRI.IT) is launched today, in Torino (Italy), as part of the actions oriented towards Italy’s membership (the country is currently a prospective Member) of MIRRI-ERIC, the pan-European distributed Research Infrastructure for the preservation, systematic investigation, provision and valorisation of microbial resources and biodiversity.
The project SUS-MIRRI.IT, funded by Italy’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan – PNRR, is granted by the European Commission’s NextGenerationEU programme with a total budget of about €17M. It is coordinated by the University of Torino and involves 14 other institutions: CNR, ENEA, OGS, the Universities of Cagliari, Genoa, Milano Bicocca, Modena and Reggio Emilia, Naples Federico II, Palermo, Perugia, Parma, Sassari, Verona and the University of Basilicata.
The general objective of SUS-MIRRI.IT is to implement the network of microbial biobanks distributed throughout Italy to increase the benefit that society can derive from the knowledge and valorisation of microbial biodiversity, which is a critical asset to face several of the greatest social, economic and environmental challenges that characterize our time. The specific goals of the project are: i) the implementation of infrastructures and quality management of microbial biobanks and related metadata; ii) the development of services and training courses for Academia and Bioindustry; iii) the creation of a national platform to promote the national catalogue of microorganisms and their metadata; and iv) provide access to available state-of-the-art technologies and services, making the infrastructure easily accessible to different types of users.
The project will be developed along 30 months, in close articulation with the work program of MIRRI-ERIC.
Giovanna Cristina Varese, the Coordinator of SUS-MIRRI.IT, said that “This project is a great chance for the Italian microbiological community. We will use the funds to raise the quality of Italian microbial biobanks to provide innovative services to the scientific and industrial community, thus fostering Bioscience and Bioeconomy in Italy and abroad”.
According to its Executive Director, Luís Soares, “MIRRI-ERIC congratulates our colleagues in Italy for having the SUS-MIRRI.IT project approved and for its launching, and we are really looking forward to welcome Italy as a full Member of MIRRI-ERIC in the very near future.”.
About MIRRI-ERIC
The Microbial Resource Research Infrastructure – European Research Infrastructure Consortium (MIRRI-ERIC) is the pan-European distributed Research Infrastructure for the preservation, systematic investigation, provision and valorisation of microbial resources and biodiversity. It brings together ~50 microbial domain Biological Resource Centres (mBRCs), culture collections and research institutes. MIRRI serves the bioscience and the bioindustry communities by facilitating the access, through a single point, to the broadest range of high-quality microorganisms, their derivatives, associated data and services, with a special focus on the domains of Health & Food, Agro-Food, and Environment & Energy.
More information and contacts:
www.mirri.org | https://www.linkedin.com/company/microbial-resource-research-infrastructure/ | info@mirri.org.
#MIRRI #microbialresources #microbialdiversity #Metadata Platform
MiBioS Workshop
Microbiodiversity: in Nuoro (Sardinia, Italy) a workshop on the project
“MiBioS – The enhancement of the Microbiodiversity of Sardinia”
A workshop on the project ‘MiBioS – The enhancement of the microbiodiversity of Sardinia’, organized by Laore Sardegna, Agris Sardegna, Sardinia Agriculture Department, and Italian Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry, will be held in Nuoro on Friday, May 20, 2022.
The Workshop will be dealing with legislation and initiative undertaken by the Sardinian Government for agricultural biodiversity’s protection and enhancement, with a specific focus on the activities carried out within the MiBioS project for the enhancement of Fruhe / Casu Axedu cheese. The itineraries linked to the “food community” and the web portal dedicated to the biodiversity of Sardinia will be other interesting issues that will be discussed.
The event will take place in presence, but you can also participate by connecting online to the link that will soon be available on the home page of the website https://www.biodiversitasardegna.it/.
You can download the flyer with the program at the link https://www.sardegnaagricoltura.it/.
MIRRI-IT and the BY-COVID project
Members of MIRRI-IT integrate the BY-COVID consortium
Braga (Portugal) and Turin (Italy), 29 October 2021
It has been officially launched a new €12 million Horizon Europe funded project, BeYond-COVID (BY-COVID), which will tackle the data challenges that can hinder effective pandemic response. The core aim of the project is to ensure that data on SARS-CoV-2 and other infectious diseases can be found and used by everyone.
BY-COVID is an interdisciplinary project that unites life science, medical, policy, social science and public health experts from across Europe. Led by ELIXIR, the project has 53 partners from 20 European countries. It will run for three years and is part of the European Commission’s HERA Incubator plan “Anticipating together the threat of COVID-19 variants”.
MIRRI, the pan-European distributed Research Infrastructure for the preservation, study, provision and valorisation of microbial resources and biodiversity, will take part in the project BY-COVID through the participation of three of the member organisations of its Italian node, MIRRI-IT, namely: Ospedale Policlinico San Martino (USMI), Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie (IZSVe), and Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell’Emilia Romagna (IZSLER).
According to its Executive Director, Luís Soares, “MIRRI has a pivotal role to play on the response to microbialrelated emergencies, since we bring together a comprehensive set of resources, data, services and expertise, coming from our many partner organisations, which provide real added-value for researchers and companies working in the field of human and human-animal infectious diseases, or in the development of new diagnostic or therapeutic solutions”.
Paolo Romano, principal investigator of MIRRI-IT in the project, adds that “The contribution provided by MIRRI partners to BY-COVID, while relatively limited in person-month effort, is very relevant for the best results of the project. The contribution of the Ospedale Policlinico San Martino will bring important knowledge and expertise in the health domain, while the other MIRRI-IT partners will provide a unique expertise in the domain of veterinary health and especially in infective diseases of zoonotic origin”.
The project BY-COVID, in a nutshell
BY-COVID will build and expand upon the successful COVID-19 Data Platform, a resource initiated in the early stages of the pandemic and led by EMBL-EBI. Since its launch, many countries have established their own national data hubs, which ensures that data produced locally can be instantaneously connected and shared with the main COVID-19 Data Portal. Rather than focus purely on providing technical solutions to the biological data, BY-COVID will work with partners such as the Versatile emerging infectious disease Observatory (VEO) and the Public Health Information Research Infrastructure (PHIRI) to incorporate data from a broader range of disciplines, including public health and social sciences.
The BY-COVID project strives to simplify data access and reuse through four key pillars:
- Mobilise data – ensuring raw sequencing data from across the world can be easily submitted to core data hubs.
- Connect data – build the technical capacity to allow linking of sequence data and metadata, expanding beyond scientific and medical data to broader metadata from, for example, public health and economics, and support integration to the COVID-19 Data Portal.
- Standardise data – provide recommended data management protocols to encourage Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable (FAIR) data standards and interoperability among resources.
- Expose and analyse data – support exposure and analysis of FAIR data on infectious diseases such as the regular VEO reports on mutations and variation in publicly shared SARS-CoV-2 data and the open COVID-19 Galaxy analysis platform.
For more information, visit the BY-COVID website at by-covid.org.
About MIRRI:
The Microbial Resource Research Infrastructure (MIRRI) is the pan-European distributed Research Infrastructure for the preservation, systematic investigation, provision and valorisation of microbial resources and biodiversity. It brings together 50+ microbial domain Biological Resource Centres (mBRCs), culture collections and research institutes from ten European countries and one associated country, namely: Belgium, France, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal (headquarters), Romania, Russia and Spain.
MIRRI serves the bioscience and the bioindustry communities by facilitating the access, through a single point, to the broadest range of high-quality microorganisms, their derivatives, associated data and services, with a special focus on the domains of Health & Food, Agro-Food, and Environment & Energy. By serving its users, by collaborating with other research infrastructures and by working with public authorities and policy makers, MIRRI contributes to the advancement of research and innovation in life sciences and biotechnology, as well as for a sustainable, competitive and resilient bioeconomy.
More information and contacts: mirri.org | linkedin.com/company/microbial-resource-researchinfrastructure/ | info@mirri.org.
About MIRRI-IT:
The Joint Research Unit MIRRI-IT is aimed at the implementation of the Italian node of MIRRI and at the development of the Italian network of collections of microbial resources. Its mission is to overcome fragmentation in availability of resources and services, enhancing the quality management system of the collections, while focusing on needs and challenges of the stakeholders interested in the biotechnological transfer of these resources. MIRRI-IT currently incudes five partners and 18 associated partners from Universities, Public Research Institutes and Hospitals. Partners are active in many domains of interest for microbial resources, including food and nutrition, agriculture, forestry and environment, as well as human and animal health.
For more information see mirri-it.it or get in touch by email with info@mirri-it.it.
BY-COVID is funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement number 101046203.
Exhibition "Extraordinary microorganisms"
Escovopsis aspergilloides (Credits: Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute, Utrecht, Netherlands)
Photo exhibition on the occasion of the International Day on Microorganisms
September 17, 2021 – October 31, 2021
On the occasion of the International Day on Microorganisms (September 17), the exhibition “Extraordinary Microorganisms” (open until October 31) was inaugurated at the Turin Botanical Garden. 44 photos taken at 27 European research centers with sophisticated microscopy techniques are exhibited.
The exhibition was organized by the Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology and by the Mycotheca Universitatis Taurinensis (MUT) of the University of Turin with the collaboration of the European Culture Collections’ Organization (ECCO) and the support of the CRT Foundation.
The photographs are accompanied by a brief description in Italian and English of the role of that microorganism in the environment and in various biotechnological processes. Along the way, insights are offered through a QR-code system.
Aspergillus discoforus (credits Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute, Utrechts, Netherlands)
If you want to read more, see the following pages (in Italian):
- University of Turin:
Mostra microrganismi straordinari - La Stampa:
Microrganismi Orto Botanico Torino - Repubblica:
Microrganismi Orto Botanico Torino - Turismo Torino:
Inaugurazione della Mostra fotografica Microrganismi straordinari - LaVoce di Torino:
All’Orto Botanico la mostra Microrganismi straordinari - In salute news:
Perché virus batteri e microalghe sono il futuro del nostro pianeta sfata i pregiudizi sui microrganismi - ANSA:
Virus e batteri futuro del pianeta - Greenreport:
Microrganismi straordinari: perché virus batteri lieviti funghi e microalghe sono il futuro della terra
Webinar "Microorganisms are allies"
The one-hour webinar will be presented by partners and experts from the IS_MIRRI21 project with background in microbiology and biotechnology who will convey the messages based on their field and professional experiences. The event will be a combination of presentations, quizzes and videos with dedicated sessions for the audiences to ask questions and interact with the speaker.
The key objectives of the event are:
- Present how EU funded projects such as IS_MIRRI21 are supporting the research and innovation ecosystem;
- Give an overall overview of how culture collections are used to preserve biodiversity and the roles of microbes in the sustainability of the environment;
- Discuss how microorganisms can be used by each and every citizen to create a sustainable world.
Agenda
| 11:00 | Welcome and introduction to speakers Tedora Aibu (SPI) |
| 11:05 | Demo session: Microbiome and Microorganisms for a Sustainable World Anna Poli (UNITO) |
| 11:20 | Let’s play: Quiz on microbial biodiversity and sustainability Giulia Cheloni (INRAE), Anna Poli (UNITO), Tedora Aibu (SPI) |
| 11:30 | Who we are and what we do in IS_MIRRI21/MIRRI Tedora Aibu (SPI) |
| 11:35 | Culture collections and their role in microbial biodiversity preservation and exploration Giulia Cheloni (INRAE) |
| 11:45 | Open floor: Q&A |
| 11:55 | Closing |
Contact us
For any additional information, please contact us at Franciscorocha@spi.pt and tedoraaibu@spi.pt.
MIRRI @ Ecomondo
La prof.ssa Giovanna Cristina Varese, Coordinatrice di MIRRI-IT, ha introdotto MIRRI e il contributo della Joint Research Unit MIRRI-IT con la presentazione “I mille volti dei microorganismi per la salute del suolo e lo sviluppo sostenibile: il ruolo della Joint Research Unit MIRRI-IT” nell’ambito del Webinar “Il mondo dei microrganismi del suolo: una risorsa da valorizzare per proteggere e salvaguardare la salute e la qualità dei suoli agricoli, le produzioni agroalimentari e l’ambiente“, organizzato da ENEA il 9 giugno 2021 sulla Piattaforma Digitale di Ecomondo come parte delle Digital Green Weeks.
Il suolo è una risorsa naturale di grande valore che contiene la più grande quantità di biomassa vivente dell’intero pianeta. La complessa rete di interazioni che si instaurano tra la moltitudine di esseri viventi presenti nel suolo contribuisce al mantenimento del suo stato di salute ed è alla base di beni necessari alla nostra sopravvivenza.
Il webinar ha voluto essere un momento di approfondimento e confronto sugli strumenti da mettere in atto per la difesa del suolo e la valorizzazione della biodiversità microbica. Garantire e promuovere la gestione sostenibile del suolo sta diventando sempre di più una priorità strategica e un tema trasversale che collega le aree della sicurezza alimentare, del cambiamento climatico, della biodiversità e della desertificazione.
L’infrastruttura di ricerca MIRRI rappresenta la più grande infrastruttura europea che si occupa di salvaguardare la biodiversità microbica e garantire la conservazione e la distribuzione dei microorganismi per favorire la sostenibilità ambientale, sviluppo biotecnologico e crescita della bioeconomia. Consorzi microbici multifunzionali composti da diverse specie con tratti complementari o sinergici sono i candidati di eccellenza per favorire l’aumento della produttività in presenza di stress biotici e abiotici, e contrastare il degrado del suolo, riducendo l’input di pesticidi e fertilizzanti azotati. La sfida è valorizzare la biodiversità microbica del suolo per aiutare la transizione agroecologica dell’agricoltura verso sistemi che salvaguardano il suolo e forniscono diete sani e sostenibili, in grado di conciliare i bisogni umani con la salute del Pianeta.
La presentazione è accessibile tramite questo link: MIRRI @ Ecomondo (PDF, Italiano).
La tradizione panaria verso l'innovazione
La tradizione panaria verso l’innovazione
Monday May 17, 2021, 15:30 CEST
Virtual Round Table
The microbial culture collection of the Department of Agriculture of the University of Sassari has organized a round table
Attend the event at the following link https://lnkd.in/dWxi3tT.
For any further information please contact microagrss@gmail.com.
ENEA, University of Pavia and University of Cagliari are new Associated members
In its last virtual meetings the Scientific Committee of MIRRI-IT has given its positive support to the requests for becoming associated members of three Italian institutions.
The General Assembly of MIRRI-IT has now officially approved their requests.
The Joint Research Unit is therefore welcoming the following Institutions as new Associated members:
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e dell’Ambiente, University of Pavia,
- ENEA – National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development,
- University of Cagliari.
Further information on the activities of new members will be added in the web site soon.
Taking into account the five funding partners and the 13 Institutions that joined MIRRI-IT previously, our Joint Research Unit has now reached the huge number of 21 partners!
All Italian Institutions willing to become associated members of MIRRI-IT will find detailed information on the relative procedure in this web site. See the section Documents, under the Organization menu item, for the General Laws of the Joint Research Unit.
Requests must be submitted by email to the Coordinator of MIRRI-IT at coordinatore@mirri-it.it.
MIRRI-IT Scientist visiting MIRRI-ES HeadQuarters
UMCC Curator Luciana De Vero is hosted at the Colección Española de Cultivos Tipo (CECT) for 1 week.
Her visit is allowed in the context of the Erasmus+ staff mobility for training. The training targets mainly the improvement of the quality management system of Unimore Microbial Culture Collection (UMCC), which will promote the relations with other BRCs and Microbial Culture Collections across Europe.
More opportunities are sought in the near future in the context of the Microbial Resource Research Infrastructure MIRRI.
Corso ECM Protocollo di Nagoya
I principi del Protocollo di Nagoya, ripresi da due Regolamenti Europei (n. 511/2014 e n. 1866/2015), con diretta applicazione in Europa e in Italia, dettano nuove regole e obblighi per gli utilizzatori di risorse genetiche e conoscenze tradizionali associate garantendo una giusta ed equa ripartizione dei benefici derivanti dal loro utilizzo.
L’evento si propone di fornire informazioni sui contenuti e principi del Protocollo di Nagoya e dei Regolamenti Europei con presentazione di casi studio ed è quindi di forte interesse per tutte le collezioni.
Per maggiori informazioni e per la registrazione fate riferimento al sito https://www.izsvenezie.it/corso-ecm-scambio-risorse-genetiche-protocollo-nagoya-normativa-europea .