Strengthening the collaboration between Latin American researchers working in aquatic microbial ecology through the MicroSudAqua Network

Abstract

This proposal aims to promote collective work within the Latin-American region and to improve the development of aquatic microbial ecology in South America. This is expected to be achieved throughout a set of interchange activities led by Brazilian and Colombian researchers. We propose four types of interchange activities: i) Collaborative research, ii) Insight workshops, iii) Work placements, and iv) MicroSudAqua networking meeting. Each type of activity was conceived to fulfill a specific objective and, to generate a particular product (performance indicator). Overall, the products that we plan to generate with the development of this proposal are: 1a) One scientific paper submitted to a high-impact journal (Q1 journal), 1b) publication of the microbial inventories in SiB (Colombia) and Biota (FAPEPS) platforms, 2) A Joint research proposal submitted to an international funding agency, 3) Organization and realization of the "IV workshop of the collaborative network on aquatic microbial ecology in Latin America", 4) Two people from Colombian team trained in Brazil on methods to study microbial processes and implementation of these techniques in Colombia. This SPRINT Call will allow us to push further the initiative funded in 2021 by FAPESP-UdeA. In June 2021, we started a joint project between Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCar-Brazil) and Universidad de Antioquia (UdeA-Colombia) with the idea of filling the gaps in South American bacterial biogeography. This initiative pushed forward the sampling of contrasting freshwater ecosystems along altitudinal and precipitation gradients across Colombia and Brazil Northeast region, respectively. So far, as products of the FAPESP-UdeA project we have submitted and published the first collaborative paper of the microSudAqua network, sampled and extracted the DNA from ~200 samples across Colombian Andean region and Caatinga region in Brazil, organized a set of virtual meetings to promote Microbial Ecology in Colombian limnology studies, organized and launched off the III MicroSudAqua workshop hosted by Brazilian team, and organized and implemented the Microbiome Analysis workshop at UFSCar, a hands-on course for postgraduate students from all over South America. This proposal will enhance the leadership and will foster the long-term collaboration between UFSCar-Brazil and UdeA-Colombia, to strength the consolidation of the MicroSudAqua network, and to promote the advance of South American Aquatic Microbial Ecology. (AU)