Vaccination is one of the most effective strategy for prevention and control of infectious diseases. However,current vaccines are not available for all infectious diseases especially endemic diseases in developingcountries including Thailand possibly due to their low incidence and lacking public attention. In addition, mostcommercially available vaccines in Thailand are imported and too expensive for the general population andpopulation at risk. Therefore, vaccine research and development especially for emreging diseases, such asLeptospirosis and Dengue, is crucial in Thailand.The research partners from Thailand and Switzerland have previously established collaborations for vaccinedevelopment. The “Southeast Asia – Europe Joint Funding Scheme for Research and Innovation” wouldpush forward this primary project, to the next step of a concrete collaboration to the institutional level and willfocus on adjuvanted leptospirosis and dengue vaccine development. Thereby, this project will aim to:1. Investigate the use of adjuvant systems in order to enhance the immunogenic properties of new multiplesubunit vaccines for leptospirosis and suitable tetravalent DNA vaccine for dengue fever to allow higherimmunogenicity and enhanced protection.2. Develop new oral vaccination approaches against leptospirosis and dengue, which combine M-celltargeting strategies and specific mucosal adjuvants.3. Organize a workshop on mucosal vaccination in Chulalongkorn University, with the collaboration of swissand french partners.4. Expand the collaborations to the institutional level between the Chula Vaccine Research Center (ChulaVRC), Chulalongkorn University, Thailand, the Vaccine Formulation Laboratory (VFL), University ofLausanne, Switzerland, the School of Pharmaceutical Sceinces Geneva-Lausanne (EPGL), Switzerland, andthe Faculty of Medicine in Saint-Etienne, France.This funding will not only help in strengthening the potential in vaccine research and development inThailand, but it is also critical to transfer the knowlege and technology from project partners in Switzerlandand France for adjuvanted vaccine development to Thailand. The different domain of expertise of the projectpartners, and their experience in transnational projects, will ensure the development of innovative solutionsto reduce the risks of infectious disease in Thailand.

Thanks to their particular biotic community, soils vary in their suppressiveness towards root diseases caused by phytopathogenic fungi on crop plants. However, the link between soil biodiversity and suppressiveness and the range of deleterious organisms that are controlled by this mechanism are poorly characterized. This project aims at developing an integrated understanding of the relation between soil biodiversity and crop protection, using soils of contrasting suppressiveness status in several countries, in a context of global change materialized by changes in crops and in pathogen/pest importance. Two approaches will be followed: (i) the comparison of emblematic soils known to be suppressive or conducive (such soils are available in Switzerland and France), and (ii) the comparison of soils under different agricultural management strategies (e.g. with soil organic matter-based management practices aiming at enhancing soil biodiversity, including in long-term experiments), which have the potential to result in different levels of suppressiveness (such conditions have been investigated in Germany). First, current knowledge gaps on suppressiveness will be filled, based on (i) chromatographic profiling of soil (to assess soil organic matter quality, which might represent a potential indicator of suppressiveness), (ii) assessment of disease suppressiveness in relation to crop plant physiology and defense status, (iii) metabarcoding of microbial taxonomic biodiversity, and (iv) molecular monitoring of microbial functional groups under controlled conditions. Second, the significance of suppressiveness under global change will be characterized, by assessing (i) the extent of disease suppressiveness on emerging crops (with a focus on wheat), (ii) the possibility of suppressiveness towards insect pests, and (iii) the contribution of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, a symbiotic partner neglected so far in this context, to disease suppressiveness. Third, the applicability of project findings to agronomic field conditions will be determined, based on specific monitoring of (i) phytopathogens and (ii) insect pest populations, (iii) metabolomic profiling of crops, and (iv) the analysis of the rhizosphere microbiota in fields. The project involves a multidisciplinary consortium of 6 partners in 3 countries, ranging from prominent academic research groups to field extension specialists to facilitate outreach to the farming community and other stakeholders. This project is expected to generate new knowledge on phytoprotection and the importance of biodiversity in suppressiveness. This knowledge will be important to develop novel biodiversity indicators of soil quality, and to define management strategies to improve crop health in soils with poor or no suppressiveness properties and facing the challenge of global change.

Glacial habitats host an astonishing diversity of species and life forms; however, most of the world’s mountain glaciers are melting due to climate change, threatening glacier biodiversity and the functioning of mountain ecosystems. In Europe, glacier retreat is particularly severe for the southernmost, peripheral chains, where the smallest glaciers occur. The European Habitat Directive includes Permanent Glaciers in the list of habitats deserving conservation, and glacial habitats host several endemic species. However, none of these species is listed in the Habitat Directive, and information on biodiversity of these environments is scarce, hindering our ability to manage mountain socio-ecological systems. PrioritIce aims at identifying trends, threats and processes acting on the biodiversity associated to glacial habitats (i.e. species living above the glacier or in glacier forelands) in Europe, with a focus on Alps and peripheral chains hosting critically endangered habitats. By combining traditional and molecular (environmental DNA) approaches, our consortium has already gathered data on 1) the distribution of key taxa (bacteria, fungi, nematodes, tardigrades, earthworms, arthropods, plants), and 2) a range of ecosystem functions (pollination, soil respiration and nutrients) from 52 study sites across the European Alps and southern European mountains. Building on these data, we will: 1) provide an exhaustive assessment of the taxonomic and functional diversity of organisms living in glacial habitats. We will complement the rich database of the consortium with additional samples from peripheral glaciers, with a special focus on poorly known endemic species; 2) analyse biological interactions to identify how species contribute to ecosystem functioning and services in glacial habitats. We will build on existing databases and develop machine learning protocols focusing on the impact of glacier extinction on the diversity–functioning relationship; 3) provide evidence-based priority programs and actions for managing glacial habitats and devising strategies for anticipating the consequences of glacier retreat under climate change scenarios. Together with a broad set of stakeholders, we will inform decision-making and environmental policy to preserve, support, and manage these ecosystems. Studying the distribution, abundance and functions of biodiversity across mountain environments, PrioritIce will enhance evidence-based protection approaches and shed light on the conservation of a poorly known, unprotected biota. Integrating statistical modelling approaches with innovative molecular methodologies will allow us to improve the ecological representation of biodiversity and its role in the functioning of glacial habitats in order to identify priority conservation areas. This will provide practitioners, managers and policy makers with the much-needed knowledge for defining adequate strategies for preserving biodiversity and mountain ecosystems.