Topic: eukaryotic genomes

Assemble eukaryotic genomes by combining long-read sequencing with chromatin-contact data. Practical work progresses from read manipulation and k-mer analysis through assembly algorithms, removal of duplicated haplotigs and Hi-C scaffolding. Participants assess contiguity, sequence accuracy and gene completeness with approaches including Merqury and BUSCO, and finish by comparing results from small eukaryotic datasets. The theoretical component explains how repeats, heterozygosity and sequencing technologies influence assembly choices. Sessions: 9–13 November, 14:00–20:00 daily, Europe/Berlin

Compare eukaryotic genomes to investigate evolutionary change and biological differences. Hands-on workflows span read quality and assembly, gene and repeat annotation, completeness assessment and visualization. Participants detect sequence and structural variation, compare synteny, infer orthology and explore gene loss and functional annotation, linking technical choices to evolutionary interpretation. Short- and long-read approaches are covered, with cloud computing and introductory Linux support. 2027-02-15–2027-02-19, 14:00–20:00 daily, Europe/Berlin (CET, UTC+01:00). Online course; fee €

This webinar examines reconstruction and use of marine metagenome-assembled genomes. The first part introduces the Ocean Microbiomics Database as a standardized resource for prokaryotic genome-resolved analysis, including co-abundance-based reconstruction, contextual metadata, and relationships between ecological patterns and microbial genomes. The second part considers why eukaryotic genomes are harder to recover: their complexity, low abundance, and limited markers and reference sequences complicate assembly and classification. Participants will compare reconstruction approaches, explore the