Collaboration sets course for future joint endeavours to explore molecular connections between ocean and humankind
Whether it's tracking the impacts of widespread microplastics, understanding plankton ecosystems in the context of climate change, or cataloguing the ocean's microbes, EMBL and the Tara Ocean Foundation have been collaborating with one another since the schooner Tara set out on the Tara Oceans expedition in 2008, led by EMBL alumnus Eric Karsenti as the expedition's scientific director. Now they've formalised this relationship with a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that will further expand their ability to take on collaborative projects.
"We've already seen how many incredible discoveries this partnership has enabled, so taking it to this next level will allow us to join forces in multiple new endeavours to provide molecular insights into ocean biodiversity," says EMBL Director General Edith Heard, noting specifically Mission Microplastics in 2019, when EMBL joined the Tara Ocean Foundation to promote the science at European ports of call. "Whether it's the emergence of new viruses, the spread of antibiotic resistance, or the impact of widespread microplastics in the ocean, departing from the lab to explore microbial dynamics in natural habitats adds an essential dimension to our understanding of life and the impact man has had on this planet."
The Tara Ocean Foundation is a not-for-profit public interest foundation based in Paris, and organises voyages to study the impact of climate change and the ecological crisis facing the world's oceans. In addition to the research it helps facilitate with its at-sea platform, the foundation co-organises events and press conferences on board its schooner with EMBL and other relevant stakeholders and partners, raises awareness in education, and plays a growing role in ocean advocacy across numerous fields of expertise by engaging with policymakers in France and Europe, and with the United Nations.
By going beyond the laboratory to study organisms in their natural habitats, EMBL can add an additional dimension to the world-class molecular biology research it is known for. This will form part of EMBL's work on Planetary Biology - one of the new transversal research themes that EMBL is developing.
"This MoU will expand how the two organisations can work together to study the complex interactions of microbes, plants, and animals in responding to environmental change in the ocean at molecular, cellular, organismal, and population levels," says Romain Troublé, Executive Director of the Tara Ocean Foundation.
The research carried out at sea with the Tara schooner is part of a much broader approach that EMBL is taking in its next research Programme, due to start in 2022. The new Programme will help to address some of the world's most pressing and complex issues, such as climate change and the emergence of new pandemics, by providing new and important perspectives at the molecular level.
Ultimately, the scientists want to understand how all the building blocks of life function in the context of their environment.
This MoU improves the ability of the Tara Ocean Foundation and EMBL to work together on several levels - from research endeavours and joint funding opportunities to community outreach and policy initiatives.
