Partner 20 – Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (IVB)

Institute of Vertebrate Biology, v.v.i., in Brno, Czech Republic, is a member institution of the Czech Academy of Sciences. The general research plan "Biodiversity and ecology of vertebrates: implications in conservation and sustainable management of natural populations" is aimed to yield original scientific knowledge of the biology of vertebrates with respect to genetic, species, and community diversity, population dynamics, interactions with environments in ecosystems, and associations with microbial pathogens dangerous for man and domestic animals (see http://www.ivb.cz/general-information.html). Medical Zoology Laboratory (Department) of this institute, situated in Valtice (South Moravia), was established in 1972 for the purpose of studying natural focality of infectious human diseases.

The staff (four scientists, one Ph.D. student, two technicians) have got expertise in laboratory techniques and field work as well. During the last years, significant results were achieved on the ecology of zoonotic arthropod-borne viruses and bacteria (ranging from BSL2 to BSL3+) associated with natural foci of infections (e.g., Borrelia burgdorferi, West Nile virus, Bhanja virus), and about 270 scientific papers have been published from the Laboratory. The Laboratory is well equipped with ultra-freezers, centrifuges, laminar flow and biosafety boxes, liquid nitrogen containers, a freeze-drying machine, an ultrasonic homogenizer, etc. It is also equipped to carry out molecular biology studies - with a gradient thermocycler, real-time cycler, gel documentation system, etc. There is also an accredited animal room facility in the laboratory that has been certified under the Animal (Scientific Procedures) Act. All these resources will be available for EDENext.