Research Training Group 2530
RTG2530Biota-mediated effects on Carbon cycling in Estuaries
Research stay in CanadaRaphael Koll receives funding from the Hamburglobal PhD Program
6 February 2023, by RTG2530
Photo: UHH/RTG2530
Raphael Koll collecting samples on the Elbe Estuary during the summer 2022.
Doctoral Researcher Raphael Koll has received a grant of 4,200 Euro from the Hamburglobal PhD Program. This will allow him to travel to Canada between May and June to work in the lab of Prof. Dr. Kenneth Jeffries at the University of Manitoba as well as to learn new research methods.
In his PhD project in RTG2530, Raphael Koll investigates molecular stress response pathways and adaptations in estuarine fish, especially smelt, ruffe and zander. He investigates, how the organisms react and adapt to changes in the environment, such as oxygen availability or food supply. For example, smelt are known to migrate to the Elbe near Hamburg to reproduce. However, adults are also caught throughout the year. Researchers therefore assume that parts of the population live permanently in the estuary and have adapted to the conditions of this environment.
The basis for any organism's response to changes in the environment is gene expression. Transcriptome studies allow the investigation of these and all genes used by an organism at a given time and under specific environmental conditions. The collaboration with Prof. Dr. Kenneth Jeffries during the research visit will enable Raphael Koll to perform transcriptome studies and population genetic analyses on data from tissue samples and swabs collected by Koll from fish in the Elbe River between spring 2021 and summer 2022.
"The method is comparatively new and few people have the expertise. Kenneth Jeffries is a world-leading expert in performing such analyses and has published several papers on this topic. A research visit to his lab will give me the opportunity to learn these methods," says Koll. "The bioinformatics questions are not trivial and will require input from various members of Prof. Dr. Jeffries' research group. The desired results will provide far-reaching insights into our data and the population structures of fish species in the Elbe estuary. Beyond that, I hope the exchange will be the cornerstone for a long-term international collaboration."
