An inspiring 5-day Training School on Metabolomics and Multi-Omics in Chemical Ecology was held from 25–29 May 2026 at the premises of the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn in Naples, Italy. The event was organized within the framework of WG3 – “Building a toolbox of shared resources”
The course combined lectures and hands-on sessions, providing participants with both theoretical foundations and practical experience in metabolomics and multi-omics approaches applied to chemical ecology.
The Training School was delivered by:
- Giovanna Romano (Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Italy)
- Soizic Prado (Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, France)
- Gerardo Della Sala (Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Italy)
- Joelle Mergola-Greef (Wageningen University)
- Gregory Genta-Jouve (LEEISA, CNRS, French Guiana)
Throughout the week, participants developed practical skills to:
- Understand the fundamental concepts of metabolomics and multi-omics in chemical ecology.
- Perform and critically evaluate a complete metabolomics workflow
- Process, visualize, and interpret metabolomics datasets using state-of-the-art computational tools.
- Explore and apply recent chemoinformatics tools for metabolite annotation, molecular networking, structure prediction, and data integration.
- Utilize modern genome mining and biosynthetic gene cluster characterization approaches to link metabolites with their genetic determinants.
- Develop integrative multi-omics approaches combining metabolomics, genomics, and other omics datasets to investigate chemically mediated ecological interactions.
A total of 14 participants from 13 universities and research institutes across Europe attended the Training School, creating an excellent environment for scientific exchange, networking, and future collaborations.
The event provided a unique opportunity to bridge theory and practice in metabolomics and multi-omics in chemical ecology while strengthening the European network of early-career researchers working at the interface of ecology, chemistry, and omics sciences.
