Pig Genome Update No. 40angenmap@db.genome.iastate.eduJanuary 1, 2000 |
1. Plant & Animal Genome VIII and The NAGRP-2000 Meetings Are Coming
2. A National Animal Agriculture DISCOVER Conference:
"Preserving Animal Germplasm Diversity
3. The NSIF Meeting Was Recently Held in Des Moines
4. An Additional Set of 93 Fluorescent Primers Are Being Manufactured
5. Upcoming Meetings (5 items)
6. Special Year-End Thanks |
Happy Holidays to all of you, your families and colleagues!
Its never too late!!!!! Plant & Animal Genome VIII (PAG-VIII) and the NAGRP -2000 meetings are coming! Most of you will have received registration information for PAG-VIII, but, if not, it can be viewed by clicking on the PAG-VIII title at the conference Web site, http://www.intl-pag.org/ . Abstracts are now on line. Registration can also be completed on-line or using a form obtained at the site. The registration fee is $475, thereafter ($100 more for participants from industry.) This year the swine committee gets an early start on Sunday, January 9, with an 8:30 a.m. session and continuing all day until 5:30 p.m. Numerous other workshops will run concurrently on Sunday, with the PAG talks and workshops running Monday through Wednesday, culminating with Wednesday night's banquet. For those interested in infectious diseases, PAG-VIII will be followed directly by the first Ag Microbial Genome meeting; see the same web site for details. Limited travel support for NAGRP members is available: contact me at mfrothsc@iastate.edu, if interested. A graduate student will receive the Neal Jorgensen Travel Award of $300 plus complementary registration.
A national animal agriculture DISCOVER Conference, "Preserving Animal Germplasm Diversity: A Call To Action", was held in Nashville, IN on October 31-November 3. Larry R. Miller, CSREES Acting Section Leader for Animal Systems, served as the program chairman, and Richard Frahm a member of the program committee, jointly organized the conference with the Agricultural Research Service, USDA. The local host Bill Baumgardt did an excellent job, and the site was beautiful. The conference involved 70 scientists and administrators representing animal industry, Land Grant universities, Federal agencies, FAO and several foreign countries. This conference was designed to (1) assess the existing biological diversity in animal species, (2) assess the available technology to preserve animal germplasm and (3) develop a strategy and mechanism to identify the germplasm to be preserved for the major agricultural species --beef, swine, dairy, poultry and sheep/small ruminants. Genetic diversity studies are mainly based on the use of anonymous sequences (MSs, AFLPs). The suggestion was made to use functional sequences (of genes for traits of interest) in order to measure the more relevant biodiversity. Counter arguments were that most genes affecting traits are not known, future traits of interest might not be the same as those we select for today and genotypes (including gene interactions) need to be preserved instead of individual genes. As technology changes, it is likely that genes will play an increasing role, but the discussion will continue. The conference builds upon the National Animal Germplasm Program prepared in 1990 by USDA and the Experiment Station Committee on Organization and Policy (ESCOP) and augments the updated National Animal Germplasm Program Implementation Plan developed by the Agricultural Research Service early this year. Plans were developed during the conference for each species that should provide the essential framework for private industry and public institutions to coordinate efforts to identify, preserve and utilize animal germplasm for agricultural species for future generations. This will enable animal industries to respond to changes in market demand and/or threats to production including new diseases, pathogens and other biological abnormalities. For further information please contact Larry Miller (lmiller@reeusda.gov) or Caird Rexroad, ARS (cer@ars.usda.gov).
The NSIF meeting was recently held in Des Moines in conjunction with the NPPC Lean Value conference. The conference was well attended and featured several talks on lean growth and meat quality. Molecular genetics talks included one on ESR effects on components of litter size by Brad Isler from the Ohio State University, who was the NSIF graduate student award winner.
A New Years Bonus! To celebrate the New Year an additional set of 93 fluorescent primers are being manufactured. Set XI will be available for distribution soon. Check our web site for updates. This brings the total number of fluorescent primer pairs distributed by the U.S. Pig Genome Coordinator to 460 pairs. Primer information is at: http://www.genome.iastate.edu/resources/fprimerintr.html . To order Set IX fluorescent primers, please send your request, along with your detailed postal address and your daytime phone number (required), to mfrothsc@iastate.edu. Please continue to make use of them and also be sure to acknowledge their source as it helps to improve cooperation and coordination activities. Please also send requests of primers for genome scans to M. Rothschild so that the next set can include further suggestions from the pig genome community.
Upcoming meetings (for more details see: http://www.genome.iastate.edu/community/meetings.html )
Plant and Animal Genome VIII, joint with the NAGRP annual meetings, Jan. 8-13, 2000, Town & Country Convention Center, San Diego, CA. See: http://www.intl-pag.org . Followed immediately by Ag Microbial Genome I, Jan. 13-14, same location. See http://www.ag-microbial.org/agm .
ASAS/ADSA Midwestern Section Meeting, March 13-15, 2000, Des Moines, IA see: http://www.asas.org/midwestern/index.html .
The 14th International Congress Animal Reproduction, July 2-6, 2000, Swedish University of Agriculatural Sciences, S-750 Uppsala, Sweden, Contact: Hans Gustafsson, Tel. +1 46-1867-1000,or hans.gustafsson@og.slu.se.
International Society of Animal Genetics: Minneapolis, MN, USA will be held July 24-27, 2000. Contact Brian Kirkpatrick at bwkirkpat@facstaff.wisc.edu.
American Society of Animal Science National Meeting, July 24-28, Baltimore, MD. For details please contact http://www.baltimore2k.org .
Let me extend a special year-end thanks to all of you who have helped in the last year with the pig gene mapping project. The suggestions, ideas and information have really helped to make this activity easier and more useful. It is my hope that all of you have a happy holiday season and that the New Year brings with it good health, happiness and blessings for you, your families and friends.
Contributions to Pig Genome Update 41, including short meeting announcements, are always welcome. Please send by February 10.
Max Rothschild
U.S. Pig Genome Coordinator
2255 Kildee Hall, Department of Animal Science
Iowa State University
Ames, Iowa 50011
Phone: 515-294-6202, Fax: 515-294-2401
mfrothsc@iastate.edu
cc: Dick Frahm, CSREES and Roger Gerrits, ARS
| U.S. PIG GENOME COORDINATION PROJECT | ||
|
http://www.genome.iastate.edu/ Mailing list: angenmap@db.genome.iastate.edu | |
© US Pig Genome Coordination Program