Sequench

Knowledge improving,📈, excitement💯, academic and professional education📝 are the highlights of the past month I spent in New Zealand🌏 November was the month of the on-site section of my internship at Sequench, a laboratory focused on eDNA analysis, which with passion and professional perfectionism taught me how to process soil samples to obtain bacterial and fungi genomic data🧫🧪🧬 Cut-edge techniques and curated procedures were my routine for the last 4 weeks, enabling me to learn profoundly the principles, possible pitfalls and opportunities lying behind the usage of eDNA.🌏🧬🖊️ With a supportive and highly educated group (Anastasija Zaiko, Michelle Scriver, and the others lab members), I was able to conclude this section of the internship successfully, and I am eager to continue the processing of the data in the next part of the experience, which I will continue at my "academic base", the UniSC Forest Research Institute.🌱 Being grateful for this opportunity, I strongly recommend the insertion of internship in the PhD path, since it allows for professional and personal growth.↗️

Citizens of the Sea is thrilled to be working with Subsea Environmental Services and their flagship vessel, MV Rebecca—a re-purposed general cargo ship working to restore the seabed by recycling retired submarine cables. Just before MV Rebecca set out on a recovery voyage, we equipped the vessel with the DNAutic eDNA sampling system and Subsea engineers collected valuable samples across the Southwest Pacific.   The results? 17.5 million DNA sequences spanning diverse marine life, helping us map shifts in species, detect invasive threats, and monitor rare species. This work builds our global biodiversity database, supporting impactful ocean conservation and informed ecosystem management. #OceanConservation #MarineBiodiversity #OceanHealth #CitizenScience

On 14 November, we had the privilege of co-hosting a Partner Forum with Harvest Hub and Sequench, two companies at the forefront of innovation in their fields.   Sequench demonstrated their leadership in advanced molecular science, including environmental DNA (eDNA) analyses, next-generation sequencing (NGS), and biological product quality control. Their presentation offered a glimpse into how their expertise is reshaping environmental monitoring and research.   Harvest Hub showcased their AI-powered technology designed to transform shellfish aquaculture by providing precise and consistent harvest yield estimates. Their live demo highlighted the cutting-edge capabilities and real-world impact of their solutions.   This event underscored the forward-thinking spirit of these companies and the potential of collaboration in driving innovation.   A big thanks to all who joined us – this is just the beginning of what’s to come!   #Innovation #Aquaculture #AI #MolecularScience #FutureFocused Harvest Hub Ltd David Taylor Dana Lambert Julian Maclaren Mark Houghton-Brown MacLab (NZ) Ltd Scott Gillanders Gary Rountree Mark Burnaby Sequench Michelle Scriver Anastasija Zaiko

🌿 Did you know? The ocean absorbs around 25% of human-related CO2 emissions through its rich, biodiverse ecosystems. Microalgae, phytoplankton, and coastal ecosystems like mangroves and seagrass all work together to turn our seas into a natural carbon reservoir. 👉 The vegetation along our world's coasts are sometimes called blue forests - “blue” because they are tied to the ocean or coasts while playing an important role in carbon storage. As of now, kelp forests are not often recognized as blue forests. While there is evidence that kelp biomass travels to deeper seafloor locations where carbon is sequestered in sediments, there is still limited information on how much of it, and for how long, it is stored. 👉 So… how good are kelp forests at locking up carbon and helping to fight climate change?  In a study funded by Oceankind, we are collaborating with the Cawthron Institute, NatureMetrics, and Sequench, to identify the unique “fingerprint” of giant kelp, one of the fastest-growing organisms on the planet. 👉The process involves taking samples from kelp forests across the globe and analyzing them to identify a distinct genetic “barcode” for giant kelp. The Cawthron team then tests this “fingerprint” in sediment samples taken near kelp forests in New Zealand. This research will let us analyze ocean sediments in the future, to study whether giant kelp has contributed to long-term carbon storage. 👉Our team in Namibia has contributed to this study by taking samples from cultivated kelp in Namibia,  which are now being sent to Cawthron and Sequench for analysis. This study is helping us get one step closer to determining whether kelp forests can act as natural carbon sinks, and one day be considered within “Blue Carbon” definitions. Check out a few pictures of the process below! Xavier Pochon, Anastasija Zaiko, Hannah Hampton, Emily Giles, Nathan Geraldi, Dan Crossett #BlueCarbon #Kelp #unlockingthepowerofkelp #marinescience #research #oceans #climate

𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 - 𝟭.𝟱𝗠𝗞𝗺𝟮 𝗼𝗳 𝗢𝗰𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝗗𝗡𝗔 𝗶𝗻 𝟰 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵𝘀 / 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗮 Over the past five months, our sailors have been hard at work, collecting an incredible 715 surface open ocean eDNA samples as part of the Pacific Rally 2024. 🌏⛵️🧬 • We have already processed 500 samples from 1.5M square kilometres of ocean surface collected during the first passage to Tonga and Fiji! • Over 1 Billion DNA sequences have been identified, uncovering traces of life in the ocean from microbes to whales! The scale of this project is set to revolutionise how we monitor and understand ocean health on a global level. Biodiversity data can inform marine spatial planning and protection, and can help predict ecological changes and assess the impact of climate change by refining and ground-truthing computational models. This citizen science project can cover a wider area and longer timeframe at considerably lower cost than traditional methods… 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝘂𝗽 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸. If you represent a significant institution, organisation or philanthropist and are interested in partnering to make a meaningful impact on ocean science and conservation, please get in touch with our project lead 👉 mary@citizensofthesea.org. Together, we can map the ocean’s health and protect its future 💙 #OceanHealth #CitizenScience #eDNA #MarineConservation #Biodiversity #GlobalOceanData

💦Citizens of the Sea's (CoTS) first sailing rally in New Zealand kicked off earlier this year. Hundreds of water samples were successfully collected and are currently being analysed, by isolating the eDNA that animals and plants leave behind. ⛵️ 🧬   The plan is to survey the world’s oceans at scale and create the largest biophysical dataset ever assembled in the South-West Pacific region, to monitor how species distribution shifts in space and time due to climate change. And how we can support survival.   All this work is only possible by building next-generation sequencing (NGS) capacity in more remote parts of the world, like New Zealand. Sequench Laboratory’s Co-Founder and Research Lead, Anastasija Zaiko opened her Nelson, New Zealand laboratory in 2021 and now offers sequencing at scale! To learn more please watch the video below 👇   Congratulations for the great work so far Xavier Pochon, Eric Swale and the team at Cawthron Institute   Illumina New Zealand Geographic Evgeny Glazov