On 1 and 2 June 2026, the second edition of the ALGAE Symposium organised by the “Algal Biology and Biotechnology” group of the Spanish Society of Plant Biology (SEBP) took place at the Institute of Plant Biochemistry and Photosynthesis (IBVF), a joint centre between the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the University of Seville (US).

The 2nd SEBP ALGAE Symposium was organised by researchers from the IBVF: Dr José L. Crespo (IBVF-CSIC), Dr M. Esther Pérez-Pérez (IBVF-CSIC) and Dr M. del Águila Ruiz-Sola (IBVF-US). It also benefited from the collaboration of a scientific committee comprising experts in the field: Dr Rosa León (University of Huelva), Dr Luis López Maury (IBVF, University of Seville), Dr Emanuel Sanz (University of Córdoba) and Dr Sergio Seoane (University of the Basque Country).

Indeed, the IBVF’s research activity, which is fully aligned with the symposium’s theme, focuses particularly on the study of the biological processes occurring in photosynthetic organisms, including cyanobacteria, microalgae and vascular plants, using biochemical and molecular approaches. Against this backdrop, the symposium was conceived as a meeting point for national and international researchers interested in the biological fundamentals and biotechnological applications of cyanobacteria, microalgae and macroalgae. Over the two days, the event facilitated the exchange of knowledge among the scientific community, fostered new collaborations and encouraged discussions on the challenges and opportunities associated with this field of research.

Following the success of the first edition, this second event was attended by over 80 national and international researchers. One of the main new features of this edition was the internationalisation of the event through the participation of researchers from Germany, the United Kingdom, Belgium, France, Mexico, Lithuania and the Czech Republic. In addition, the symposium featured special guest speakers of international renown, including Dr Claire Remacle (Liège University, Belgium), Dr Serena Flori (EMBL, Heidelberg, Germany) and Dr Enrique Flores (IBVF-CSIC, Seville, Spain).

The conference also featured a large number of scientific presentations, both in poster and oral formats, addressing topics related to synthetic biology and biotechnology, including the development of new tools in these fields, the industrial and biotechnological applications of algae, gene regulation, as well as mechanisms of environmental acclimatisation and stress response, in addition to the study of the metabolism and cellular physiology of photosynthetic microorganisms.

The content of these presentations was supervised by the members of the scientific committee. This committee of experts was also responsible for awarding the prizes for the best presentations by young researchers at the symposium, a decision made particularly difficult by the high calibre of participants in this edition. Finally, Dr María Carbó (EEZ-CSIC) and Marta Bertolini (Sorbonne Université) were the winners of the Best Poster and Best Oral Presentation awards, respectively.

With all this, the SEBP ALGAE Symposium reinforces its role as a key forum for advancing knowledge and fostering future collaborations in the field of macro/microalgae and cyanobacteria biology.