Research projects, Cooperation agreements

In the last fifteen years, an increased awareness of the existence of still-unexplored areas of the Earth and of unknown species has revived interest in scientific exploration.
An ambitious and spontaneous interest inspired by the great feats of the XVIII century, which commits scientists, whose aim is to research uncharted areas of the world, rich in biodiversity and of highly significant biological value. Nowadays, however, the push towards the discovery and the documentation of the biological value of remote and unknown areas has acquired a new, fundamental, role: to identify and safeguard as much of our planet as possible, in order to provide better prospects for the future, promoting new models of sustainable development that do not compromise the integrity of the ecosystem, which guarantees life on Earth.

The “Eastern Afromontane” biodiversity hotspot is one of the 35 most biologically prosperous and threatened areas on Planet Earth. Despite the region’s global importance, there are still areas that remain biologically unexplored. This phenomenon usually concerns small, isolated portions of the forest, however this is not the case of the region of Kabobo, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which extends over about 100km along the western shore of Lake Tanganyika, representing the vastest segment of isolated and almost completely unexplored montane forest in eastern Congo.
Since 1960, the place has served as a refuge for armed militias fighting against the government. Only in recent times the forest has become accessible to explorations and, due to its geographical location and millennial isolation, numerous new, scientifically relevant species are to be found, including vertebrates. Besides, the region has been identified as a significant area where to find birds and big mammals, such as forest elephants, chimpanzees, buffalos, bongos, bush pigs and giant forest hogs. On the other hand, it is likely to discover new species among small mammals, reptiles and amphibians, of which little is known.

The main goal of the recently launched Kabobo Expedition is to precisely define the biological value of the Kabobo massif, as well as its biological uniqueness, investigating geographically distant areas from what is already known and penetrating into places never sampled before. The ultimate purpose is to encourage both the international scientific community and the local authorities to activate for the aggregation of the numerous reservations present in the area into a national park: the Ngamikka National Park. This change proposal that would convert the region of Kabobo into a national park was discussed with local communities, which in turn offered to function as promoters of the initiative and consider the creation of the park a great opportunity to maintain the identity of the territory and to stimulate economic progress.

GENE
During the exploration, the group will sequence various species belonging to different taxonomic groups (mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, arthropods). This will be possible thanks to GENE, the new system developed by the MUSE - Science Museum of Trento (Italy) and the University of Verona in 2015, used to extract, amplify and sequence the DNA out of a controlled environment. Thus, the DNA sequences will be sent via satellite to the database (which contains over 10,000 sequences unique to amphibians in Africa), or to the GenBank, in order to verify their genetic similarity.
Such a rapid molecular diagnosis will allow the researchers to comprehend the meaning of their researches in real time. This will be the first time that this technique is applied on the field and for the study of different organisms.

GENE is the first system capable of extracting, amplifying and sequencing DNA out of a controlled environment, like the one of a laboratory. Back in February 2015, in a remote area of Tanzania, the team of researchers from the MUSE and the University of Verona succeeded in extracting, purifying and amplifying the DNA of a frog - all of this in the middle of a forest - through the use of this new instrument called GENE. The genomic data was then sent to Italy on cloud, where the researchers had the opportunity to compare the DNA GenBank sequences and share their findings with the media.
GENE is composed of a thermal cycler, developed with Biodiversa, that allows the DNA extraction, its purification and amplification, and a DNA MinION sequencer, developed with Oxford Nanopore Technologies, which allows DNA sequencing.
This portable laboratory brings the molecular analysis directly on the field, revolutionizing the experience of biological exploration.

THE DOCUMENTARY
The biological exploration on Mount Kabobo and the use of the innovative GENE system for scientific research will be the subjects of a documentary film, which will additionally function as crucial evidence and knowledge-producer for the concrete support and preservation of the forest’s biological value. Moreover, the documentary will support the sharing of scientific knowledge with local communities, as well as the creation of the National Park in the region of Kabobo.

#KABOBOEXPEDITION (ALMOST) LIVE-STREAM
The Kabobo Expedition is online as well: it will be possible to stay up-to-date with the developments of the project for the whole duration of the journey, through videos, photographs and stories from a staff member. News will be then rebroadcasted in real-time on the following blog: www.easternafromontane.org.
Interesting facts and extras about the expedition will be available (mostly in Italian language) on Facebook (@museotrento), Twitter (@MUSE_Trento) and Instagram (@museomuse), where the public will have the chance to share posts, ask questions and find additional information and fun facts about the project.

The members of the expedition

Supervision
Michele Menegon (MUSE - Science Museum)
Deo Kujirakwinja (WCS - Wildlife Conservation Society)

Biological Exploration
Michele Menegon (MUSE)
Marina Moreno (MUSE)
Guillain Mitamba (WCS)
Emmanuel Muhindo (WCS)
Arcel Bamba (WCS)

GENE
Massimo Delledonne (Università di Verona)
Ana Rodriguez Prieto (MUSE)

Documentary research
Simone Pecorari
Claus Dettelbacher
Anna Sustersic

Transport
Papy Nkulu (WCS)
Celestin Mussa Katontoka (WCS)

Institutions involved in the project
MUSE - Science Museum of Trento
WCS - Wildlife Conservation Society, USA- DRC
University of Verona
Personal Genomics, Italy