Environmental Microbiology workshops

This hands-on workshop introduces metagenomic analysis with MOTHUR on Galaxy Australia. Participants will explore how sequencing data reveal microbial community composition, diversity and functional potential. Practical work follows raw-read quality control, OTU clustering, taxonomic classification and diversity analysis in Galaxy’s browser interface, including filtering, profiling and visualisation. The training combines core concepts with workflows participants can use for their own microbial ecology and environmental genomics projects. The online workshop runs 10:00–18:00 AEDT (Australia/Sydney, UTC+11) on 4 November 2026, equivalent to 09:00–17:00 AEST, 09:30–17:30 ACDT or 07:00–15:00 AWST. It is free, with essential applications and limited places, and is open to Australian researchers and students in the life sciences. Familiarity with Galaxy, or completion of an introductory Galaxy workshop, is recommended; coding experience is not required. A Galaxy Australia account is needed. UQ staff and students use the UQ application route; other Australian researchers use Eventbrite.

This practical course follows microbial metagenomics from environmental sampling to biological interpretation. Advanced PhD students and early postdoctoral researchers work through DNA extraction from soil and water, library preparation and long-read metabarcoding using Nanopore or PacBio technologies. Computational training covers raw-read processing, assembly, reconstruction of metagenome-assembled genomes, functional annotation and statistical analysis in reproducible workflows. Phage genomics and single-cell methods extend the core approaches. Lectures, experiments, group work and discussions help participants evaluate study design, compare analytical resources and interpret microbial-community diversity.