The two organisations have signed a memorandum of understanding to support scientific cooperation in the exploration of coastal and oceanic ecosystems, the study of marine biodiversity, and the understanding of host-pathogen-environment interactions in the marine environment.
Edith Heard, EMBL Director General, and François Houllier, President and Managing Director of the French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea (Ifremer), have signed a memorandum of understanding to encourage scientific collaboration between their respective organisations.
Ifremer is a French public organisation that is internationally recognised as a pioneer in ocean sciences. Its goals include protecting and restoring the ocean, sustainably managing marine resources, and sharing ocean data, information, and knowledge.
Data sharing will be an important aspect of the collaboration between the two organisations. Ifremer has already collected a large amount of marine data and can bring sea research expertise and infrastructure, while EMBL has developed technologies to undertake multidimensional measurements, such as advanced omics and imaging technologies, which also incorporate environmental variables.
"In the framework of the new EMBL Programme, and specifically with regards to planetary biology, many valuable research collaborations could arise from and build on this data," explained Professor Heard. "This is particularly interesting considering EMBL's plans for a European coastline expedition, which could tie in neatly with Ifremer projects."
"EMBL has remarkable skills in molecular biology," adds François Houllier. "Reciprocally, Ifremer has a strong base of expertise in marine biology and ecology. Thanks to our partnership, we will be able to develop new approaches, such as the study of environmental DNA in the deep sea and coastal marine environments, which Ifremer has been studying for a long time, or for the evaluation of fisheries resources."
Researchers from both organisations will be able to join forces, particularly in the areas of coastal and marine ecosystems, biodiversity, and host-pathogen-environment interactions.
This collaboration, along with the perspectives it offers, is built on past interactions and discussions between EMBL and Ifremer, as well as other institutes working on biodiversity and ocean sciences, like the European Marine Biological Resource Centre (EMBRC). Most recently, an online Marine eDNA Workshop has been organised in April 2021 by EMBL, Ifremer, and the Tara Ocean Foundation.
