Short description 

Archiving FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable, reusable) research data requires effective data management and precise metadata annotation. In bioimaging this process is particularly challenging due to large file sizes and proprietary file types. To address this, the REMBI (Recommended Metadata for Biological Images—enabling reuse of microscopy data in biology; Sarkans et al., 2021 ) guidelines were established.
However, since different research contexts and imaging modalities require specific adjustments, this project aims to develop a customized metadata template for lichen imaging. In particular, lichens which are complex cross-kingdom communities that include a mycobiont (hyphal fungus), a photobiont that is either a cyanobacteria and/or a green alga, and, as recent results have shown, a microbiome, require reliable workflows and standardized metadata annotation to ensure reproducibility of the data. In our previous work, we focused on generating sequencing data using long-read technologies such as Oxford Nanopore and PacBio. This data, in the future, could be integrated with microscopic imaging to provide precise estimates of specific organisms and their spatial arrangements within the lichen thallus.
The developed metadata template will serve as a ready-to-use tool and will be compiled with data management platforms OMERO and ARC, utilized and developed by NDFI4BIOIMAGE and DataPLANT. The standardized metadata and integration into these platforms will provide a robust framework for the microbial science community to share and access imaging data fostering collaboration and accelerating research within the NFDI4Microbiota, SFB MibiNet and beyond.

Graphical abstract

Graphical abstract “Use Case LichenMetaImage” by Björn Usadel, Stephanie Weidtkamp-Peters, Ksenia Krooß, Sabrina Zander and Vivien Joisten-Rosenthal.

How you can contribute  

You are a …

• lichen expert:
  Give your input on relevant metadata for lichen research.
• microscopist with experience in lichen imaging:
  Share your knowledge on lichen handling and preparation for microscopy.
• RDM experts:
  Contribute to the exchange between standards and tool knowledge between NFDI4Microbiota, DataPLANT, NFDI4BIOIMAGE,CRC MibiNet, and beyond.

Planned research output 

• Researchers can reuse the metadata template for lichen imaging
• Templates will be made available to be compatible with the data management platforms OMERO and ARC

More resources related to LichenMetaImage

Linktree pointing to the associated collaboration partners, consortia and technical infrastructures: https://beacons.ai/lichenmetaimage