In an effort to strengthen the research culture and get updates on technological advancements, the National Biodiversity Centre (NBC) organised talks on Molecular tools in systematics and conservation and mollusc research in the Country. The talk on molecular tools was delivered by Associate Professor Rose Andrew from the University of New England, New South Wales, Australia, while an update on Mollusc research was given by Prof. Em. Edi Gittenberger from the University of Leiden, the Netherlands, both of whom are currently in the country. The talk was attended by more than 30 staff members of the NBC and relevant organisations in the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock around Thimphu.
Associate Prof. Andrew covered topics ranging from the history of systematics; new tools and insights in systematics, specifically emphasising systematics as an integrative science progressing parallel with the advancements made in Microscopy, Chemistry, Ecology, Genetics and Genomics; application of molecular/genetic data in conservation genomics and biodiversity conservation strategies in the light of changing climate; and the past and new genomic techniques applicable in wide range of biodiversity conservation and ecological research.
Prof. Em. Gittenberger has been involved in collaborative Mollusc research in the country with NBC and other organisations (e.g. Ugyen Wangchuck Institute for Forestry Research and Training, College of Natural Resources) since 2012. While the team has documented more than 100 mollusc species in the country to date, Prof. Em. Gittenberger updated that more than 300 species are expected to occur. Except for one species described prior to the current collaborative research, the National Reference Collections for Molluscs hosted at the NBC proudly houses all the holotypes of the new species described from Bhutan and 1000s of specimens for future research.
