Earlier this month, the Station Biologique de Roscoff in Brittany hosted the MicroSEA summer school, bringing together early-career researchers working on marine protists from all over the world. PhD student Kaïn van Calcar shares his experiences:

Protists are a diverse group of microscopic organisms that make up a large part of marine plankton communities. During the week, lectures were combined with field sampling and practicals covering topics such as protist diversity, evolution, ecology, symbioses, culturing, and modern molecular approaches 🔬🧬

We also gained hands-on experience with a range of techniques, including single-cell isolation, flow cytometry, confocal microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and single-cell sequencing. One of the highlights was visiting the Roscoff Culture Collection (RCC), where more than 10,000 strains of marine microorganisms are maintained 🦠

For me, one of the most interesting aspects was learning techniques that I can use in my own research on bioluminescent dinoflagellates. Methods such as culturing, imaging, flow cytometry, and single-cell isolation will be useful for upcoming work on how plankton communities respond to marine heatwaves and changing nutrient conditions

Beyond the science, it was great to spend a week with researchers working on everything from coral symbionts and parasites to harmful algal blooms and microbial ecology. The discussions during practicals, coffee breaks, and fieldwork generated plenty of new ideas and perspectives 💡

A big thank you to the organisers, speakers, and participants for a fantastic week in Roscoff. Special thanks to Johan Decelle, Fabrice Not, Faustine Ferraris, Elizabeth Cooney and the entire MicroSEA team for putting together such a great programme. Looking forward to seeing where all these new ideas, and perhaps a few new cultures, will lead! Read more about Kaïn’s project on Bioluminescence here