The Anhydrobiosis Research, Tools & Techniques Public Webinar Series

The Anhydrobiosis Research, Tools & Techniques Webinar Series is a public seminar and technical training series featuring research talks and practical workshops focused on the science of desiccation tolerance across organisms and scales. Sessions highlight both scientific advances and applied methods, with the goal of supporting training, collaboration, and knowledge sharing across the anhydrobiosis community.

Hosted by the Water and Life Interface Institute (WALII), each session will feature invited speakers who share cutting-edge research as well as practical tools, techniques, and approaches that can support scientists working across this interdisciplinary field.

The series will take place the second Thursday of each month starting April 9, 2026 at 8 am PT / 9 am MT / 10 am CT / 11 am ET.

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Speakers

A new date for this event will be shared soon!

Tips and Tricks for RNA Extraction from Seeds
Danielle Hoffmann, PhD, Michigan State University
Co-Presenters: Erin Cushing, Michigan State University and Ben Jin, University of California Berkeley

Assessing RNA expression in seed tissues at various stages of development and desiccation is imperative to the mission of WALII, which seeks to elucidate the mechanisms underlying organisms at all scales of life’s ability to desiccate and rehydrate. RNA extraction from seed tissue is notoriously difficult due to the high content of oils, proteins, and polyphenols in seeds, which inhibit the efficiency of RNA extraction. Therefore, specialized methods and modifications of RNA extraction protocols are utilized to overcome the inhibitory effects of these molecules. In this technical workshop, WALII members who have successfully extracted RNA from seed tissue will share their successes and failures while troubleshooting the seed RNA extraction method. Two different RNA extraction methods that we have used for two Brassicaceae species’ seeds, Arabidopsis and pennycress, will be shared. This workshop will serve as a resource to help facilitate future researchers to master these techniques in an efficient, timely manner.

Living on the Edge: A Decade of Research into the Extreme Microbial Ecology of the Namib Desert
Pedro Humberto Lebre, PhD, University of West London and University of Pretoria

The Namib Desert is one of the oldest deserts on earth, where life is challenged by several abiotic stressors, including high temperature fluctuations, high UV radiation, low nutrient availability, and water scarcity. This combination of selective pressures has resulted in a broad range of highly specialized and unique microbiota across different desert biomes. Water, or lack thereof, is the strongest driver for biological processes in this environment, and a natural 200 km precipitation gradient from the west coast to the interior makes the Namib Desert the ideal ‘field laboratory’ for the study of water-driven structural and functional processes of soil microbial communities.

This presentation will cover 10 years of research into the water-driven ecology and functional profiles of soil microbial communities across the Namib Desert, conducted by myself and the researchers at the Centre for Microbial Ecology and Genomics (CMEG), University of Pretoria. This presentation will highlight the potential water sources in the desert and how they might shape the metabolic windows of desert-adapted soil microbial communities. It will also cover studies performed on the functional kinetics of soil communities residing in the hyper-arid gravel plains during rehydration-dehydration cycles. Finally, it will showcase recent work that fundamentally shifts our understanding of how soil microbial communities might persist in highly desiccated environments, by using a unique trophic pathway coined “aerotrophy”, i.e. the scavenging of trace gases from the atmosphere for energy and water production.

Registration

Registration for the May 14, 2026 seminar led by Dr. Pedro Humberto Lebre

Registration for the June 11, 2026 seminar led by Dr. Daniela Billi

Registration for the July 9, 2026 technical training workshop led by Dr. Matt Stata

Registration for the August 13, 2026 seminar led by Dr. Michael Menze

Registration for the September 10, 2026 seminar led by Dr. Jill Farrant

Please note that registration is required for each monthly session. Even if you have attended previous events in the series, you must register again for the upcoming session to receive the webinar link and event details.

Schedule

POSTPONED! NEW DATE WILL BE AVAILABLE SOON!	Tips and Tricks for RNA Extraction from Seeds Presenter: Dr. Danielle Hoffmann, Michigan State University Co-Presenters: Erin Cushing, Michigan State University and Ben Jin, University of California Berkeley	Technical Training Workshop
May 14, 2026 at 8 am PT / 9 am MT / 10 am CT / 11 am ET	Living on the Edge: A Decade of Research into the Extreme Microbial Ecology of the Namib Desert Presenter: Dr. Pedro Humberto Lebre, University of West London and University of Pretoria	Seminar
June 11, 2026 at 8 am PT / 9 am MT / 10 am CT / 11 am ET	Presenter: Dr. Daniela Billi, University of Rome Tor Vergata	Seminar
July 9, 2026 at 8 am PT / 9 am MT / 10 am CT / 11 am ET	Presenter: Dr. Matt Stata, Michigan State University	Technical Training Workshop
August 13, 2026 at 8 am PT / 9 am MT / 10 am CT / 11 am ET	Presenter: Dr. Michael Menze, University of Louisville	Seminar
September 10, 2026 at 8 am PT / 9 am MT / 10 am CT / 11 am ET	Presenter: Dr. Jill Farrant, University of Cape Town	Seminar
October 8, 2026 at 8 am PT / 9 am MT / 10 am CT / 11 am ET	TBD	Technical Training Workshop