A. Murat Eren (Meren)

Table of Contents

Welcome, and thank you for your interest! The microbial ‘omics seminar series of 2020 is now over, but in this page you can find the recorded lectures.

Motivation

The primary aim of this seminar series was to give a broad introduction to some of the key concepts and strategies that enable us to study the ecology, evolution, and functioning of naturally occurring microbial populations.

The last several years witnessed tremendous advances in molecular and computational approaches which now offer unprecedented access to naturally occurring microbial communities through new ‘omics strategies. Developing an overall understanding of these strategies -including the ability to identify their appropriate applications and shortcomings- has quietly become a de facto necessity in the journey of an independent life scientist.

While most of these strategies are quite accessible thanks to the increasing number of computational tools and pipelines, without a complete understanding of the key concepts, exploiting available computational solutions to address unique scientific questions remain difficult. The purpose of the seminar series is to offer some introductions to key concepts, without talking about tools or their practical applications.

Target audience

The target audience of this seminar series is beginners from all backgrounds who are interested in microbial ‘omics.

Even if you have never been exposed to the strategies the seminars will cover, you will likely to be able to follow the content and discussions.

Seminars will use simple terms and simple language as much as possible.

Lecturers

Lectures

July 8, 2020

A brief introduction to microbial life, and popular ‘omics approaches and data types

The video of the first week’s lecture (if you click on the title, you will find the outline and timestamps of independent sections of the talk on YouTube):

July 15, 2020

The power of metagenomic read recruitment

The video of the second week’s lecture. Please see questions asked and responses given, as well as the outline and timestamps of independent sections of the talk on YouTube:

July 22, 2020

Genome-resolved metagenomics: key concepts in reconstructing genomes from metagenomes

July 29, 2020

Pangenomics: comparative genomics in the era of genomic explosion

The video of the lecture (please find timestamps for individual chapters and written Q&A’s on YouTube):

August 5, 2020

Metapangenomics: A nexus between pangenomes and metagenomes

The video of the lecture (please find timestamps for individual chapters and written Q&A’s on YouTube):

August 12, 2020

Phylogenomics: inferring evolutionary relationships between microorganisms

The video of the lecture (please find timestamps for individual chapters and written Q&A’s on YouTube):

Future

We are hoping to put together another seminar series later on bioinformatics approaches that give access to ‘omics strategies covered in this introductory seminar series. Meanwhile, please use the comments section down below or find us on Disord if you have any comments or suggestions.

Questions? Concerns? Find us on

Thank you very much for your interest!