This course provides an overview of metabarcoding with different barcoding genes to target particular taxa, and consists of a technical wet lab component and a bioinformatics component. Interested delegates may apply to attend either or both workshops.

Generating DNA sequence barcodes from mixed sources of DNA is an increasingly-used and efficient way to survey biodiversity, whether monitoring aquatic species by sampling water-derived DNA, characterising communities from soil samples, or analysing diet from faecal-derived DNA. 

During the wet lab component, we will give an overview of experimental design, head outside for a field sampling demonstration and return to the laboratory for a full course on the metabarcoding process. The laboratory techniques will include DNA extraction, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), gel electrophoresis, magnetic bead cleaning and quantification. Finally, we will outline the different platforms that are typically used for sequencing.

In the bioinformatics component, we will use an example data set to go from raw sequence data through to assigning taxonomy to identified sequence variants. We will then conduct typical downstream analyses to quantify and examine differences in diversity.