GENOME
NEWSLETTER
Issue No. 1
January, 1997
**POULTRY GENOME NEWSLETTER-1997**
Issue No. 1, January, 1997
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL READERS OF THIS NEWSLETTER!
May all your genes be tightly linked to existing clones and your
QTL be significant, reproducible, of the largest possible effect,
obtained with minimum effort and in the shortest time, providing
immediate applicability and the fastest approach to the isolation
of the searched QTL.*
*Last year's newsletter greeting as enhanced by Jossi
Hillel, PSA Symposium, Louisville, 1996.
This issue of the Newsletter is coming out a little
early for a variety of reasons, but it gives me the chance to
wish a Happy Holiday Season to all our readers. The Holidays
will be well underway or over for some of you when you get this,
while others still rush to prepare, but Best Wishes to you and
your families. Hopefully, poultry will (or did) contribute in
some way to your enjoyment.
PLANT AND ANIMAL GENOME V (PAG-V)/NAGRP/NC-168;
January 11-16, 1997, San Diego, CA.
It is still not too late to register for PAG-V, along
with the joint NC-168 and NRSP-8 meetings to be held January 11-16,
1997 at the Town & Country Hotel (1-800-772-8527) in San Diego.
NC-168 Station Reports and the Business Meeting (and the Poultry
Subcommittee of NRSP-8) will begin at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, January
11 in the Helix Room (why not the Double Helix Room?). The agenda
has been prepared jointly by Doug Foster (NC-168) and Jim Bitgood
(NRSP-8). (Don't forget to bring 40! copies of your Station Report,
along with your swimsuit and shades.) PAG-V will include Plenary
Sessions in areas such as New Technologies, QTLs, Gene Discovery
and Characterization, Comparative Map Based Analysis, Gene and
Chromosome Organization, and Genome Diversity. Poster Sessions
and the combined NRSP-8 (NAGRP) Business Meeting will also be
included. Registration is now $375 ($100 for predoctoral students),
and the hotel room rate will be $75.00 plus tax (single or double
occupancy). All administrative questions, including requests
for the registration brochure, should be directed to Scherago
International, Inc.; 212-643-1750; email pag5@scherago.com. Note:
As advertised here and on angenmap previously, some Poultry Coordination
funds will be available to assist with travel costs to PAG-V,
but this must be approved in advance of the meeting. Contact
Jerry Dodgson at 22314jbd@msu.edu, NOW, if interested.
THE NC-168 RENEWAL HAS BEEN SUBMITTED. Thanks to
all who provided email commentary, publication lists, and editorial
assistance. Special thanks to Ed Smith for drafting the Critical
Review and putting up with all our requests for more coverage
for our work and to Sue Lamont (and her secretary, Ann Shuey)
for organizing the whole process and particularly for the last
minute assembly and proofing of the final draft. This was a particularly
challenging renewal, since NC-168 has not actually met since Oct.,
95. Welcome to Collaboration In Silico!
LESS THAN 365 DAYS UNTIL THE RENEWAL DEADLINE FOR
NRSP-8! The NRSP-8 National Animal Genome Research Program renewal
application will be due in late 1997. As requested, Species Coordinators
have begun to consider objectives and a structure on which to
base for such an application. A draft proposal should be ready
for consideration at the business meeting in San Diego in Jan.
At the moment, 3 objectives have been proposed which are, roughly
speaking:
1. Develop high resolution comparative genome maps aligned across species.
2. Enhance existing linkage maps and integrate them with various types of physical maps.
3. Provide editorial and development support for
internationally shared species genome databases and generate and
distribute other community resources (e.g., mapping primer sets,
DNA panels, special clone libraries, newletters, conferences,
etc.) to expand the usefulness of genome maps.
Aspects of the structure of a potential future NRSP-8
which need to be considered include: should we continue to have
Species Coordinators (perhaps better called "Facilitators")
and, if so, how should they be chosen? Can bioinformatics (database,
WWW) activities be centralized at a single location? What sort
of budget is feasible to request? Is there an opportunity to
integrate our efforts with plant agricultural genomics into a
larger Food-Related Genome Initiative? Suggestions on these or
any other aspects of NRSP-8 would be welcomed by the relevant
Species Coordinators.
OTHER NAGRP NEWS
A horse is a horse, of course, of course: Researchers
studying the horse genome have put together an addendum to join
the NAGRP, which will probably be reviewed in San Diego. An additional
Species Technical Committee for the horse is therefore expected
to be part of the effort to renew NRSP-8, as described above.
There remains the possibility that aquaculture (fish) will also
form an additional Species Committee in time for the renewal application.
Alphabet Soup: As an outgrowth of the Madison, WI
meeting described in the last Newsletter, Colin Scanes (lead Administrative
Advisor for NRSP-8), Neal Jorgensen (Emeritus Administrative Advisor)
and Dan Laster (Director, USDA-ARS-Meat Animal Research Center)
have put together a draft agreement on future NRSP-8 policy that
will formaly place shared responsibility for the National Animal
Genome Research Program with both USDA-CSREES/SAES and USDA-ARS
under the USDA Research, Education, and Extension (REE) Division.
Among several other things, this should lead to continued and
enhanced participation of ARS scientists on NRSP-8 Species Committees.
Perhaps more important to poultry scientists, Colin reports to
Dick Frahm that State Ag Experiment Station (SAES) Directors,
to whom he's spoken, are enthusiastic about genome-related research,
which may bode well for prospects of renewing NRSP-8.
SAVE THE CHICKENS
As reported previously, the Avian Genetics Resources
Task Force (AGRTF), as convened by the University of California
Genetic Resources Conservation Program and led by Mary Delany
and Bob Taylor, has undertaken a major survey of the status of
poultry genetic stocks and is preparing a comprehensive report
on issues relevant to the conservation of avian germplasm. Draft
section reports were submitted by October 25, and the goal is
that the report will be completed by Jan. 15, 1997. The AGRTF
previously received a 2 year grant from the USDA and has also
submitted an application to the NSF Living Stocks Collection Program.
Questions or comments can be sent to Jacqueline Pisenti at jmpisenti@ucdavis.edu.
SPEAKING OF WHICH: An International Speakers' Forum
entitled "Canadian Farm Animal Genetic Resources at the Crossroads:
Crisis or Opportunity? will be held on February 27-28, 1997 at
Le Chateau Cartier, 1170 Aylmer Road, Aylmer, Quebec, Canada J9H
5E1. For more information contact Dr. S.K. Ho, Centre for Food
and Animal Research, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Ottawa,
Ontario, Canada, K1A 0C6 or email cfcfagr@magi.com. (As most
of you already know, CFAR is destroying and/or distributing its
own long term poultry stocks in conjunction with the phase-out
of the eminent poultry breeding research program there that will
be greatly missed.
OTHER UPCOMING MEETINGS OF INTEREST
Gordon Research Conference on Quantitative Genetics
and Biotechnology, Doubletree Hotel, Ventura, CA, February 9-14,
1997. Co-chairs: William D. Beavis and Gretel Dentine (dentine@macc.wisc.edu)
Molecular Biology Techniques Workshop, Food Animal
Biotechnology Center, U. of Minnesota. Registration deadline:
May 9, 1997; contact fabctr@maroon.tc.umn.edu or call (612) 624-2700;
Fax: (612) 624-7284.
International Conference on Animal Biotechnology,
China Agricultural University, Beijing, People's Republic of China;
June 11-14, 1997; contact Ning Li, phone 86 10 62633055 or 86
10 62632715, Fax: 86 10 62582332 or 86 10 62582128, email: ninglbau@public3.bta.net.cn
Poultry Science Association, University of Georgia,
Athens, GA, August 4-8, 1997; contact: Poultry Science Assoc.,
1111 North Dunlap Avenue, Savoy, IL 61874 or http://gallus.tamu.edu/psa/psa.html/
Transgenic Animals in Agriculture, Granlibakken Conference
Center, Tahoe City, CA, August 24-27, 1997; see http://pubweb.ucdavis.edu/Documents/BIOTECH/biotech1.htm
International Course in QTL Detection and Marker-Assisted
Seletion, Mitzpa Rachel Convention Center, Jerusalem, ISRAEL,
August 24-Sept. 4, 1997 (dates tentative). Contact: Joel Weller
at weller@agri.huji.ac.il
6th World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock
Production, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia, January 11-16,
1998. Contact: Dr. Laurie Piper at 61 67 73-3609, Fax: 61 67
73-3611, email: 6wcgalp@mendel.une.edu.au
MORE CONFERENCE NEWS
Allerton II: Genetic Analysis of Economically Important Traits in Livestock: (No Bull--et)
This meeting was held November 6-9, 1996 at the Allerton
Conference Center near Champaign-Urbana, IL. Chairpersons were
Harris Lewin, Larry Schook and Craig Beattie, with Harris taking
on the special responsibility of local host. The focus of the
meeting was on locating and using QTLs, now that workable maps
are available. Among the highlights of the meeting, especially
for poultry folk, was an excellent presentation by Martien Groenen
describing the combined microsatellite generation, mapping, and
QTL detection program going on at the U. of Wageningen with support
from Euribred B.V. Another particularly valuable aspect of the
meeting involved the participation of numerous experts in human,
mouse, and plant genetics and biotechnology. Legal and bioinformatic
aspects of genome research were also discussed. My own thumbnail
summary of the meeting would be as follows: While very interesting
and exciting progress is already being made in identifying and
mapping animal QTL, the actual identification of the genetic mechanism(s)
responsible for a QTL remains an extremely challenging task, even
for those working in species (e.g., mouse) whose maps are far
better developed than what is now available for poultry and other
farm animals. Although several mechanisms for addressing this
problem are being developed (improved mapping algorithms, use
of multigenerational pedigrees and recombinant inbreds to increase
recombination events and fine structure map, physical and comparative
mapping techniques, candidate gene approaches, differential display,
expressed sequence tags, GDRDA, etc.), NO SINGLE MAGIC BULLET
has yet appeared to greatly simplify the process, other than good
fortune (see the Holiday greeting as modified by Jossi Hillel).
A reasonable prediction would be that we will be limited for
some time to come to focusing on the isolation and identification
of major QTL genes in specially designed families (particularly
applicable to poultry), and only then going back to survey the
allelic diversity and relevance of these genes in commercial populations.
1997 USDA National Research Initiative Competitive
Grants Program
The Program Description and Application Kit can be
accessed at http://www.reeusda.gov or by phone at 202-401-5048
or by email at psb@reeusda.gov. Of particular interest to our
readers are the Improving Animal Growth and Development and Identifying
Animal Genetic Mechanisms and Gene Mapping Programs, with a deadline
of Feb. 15, 1997 and Sustaining Animal Health and Well-Being and
Enhancing Animal Reproductive Efficiency Programs, deadline Jan.
15, 1997.
COORDINATION RESOURCES
REMINDER: CHICKEN MICROSATELLITE PRIMER MAPPING KITS:
Comprehensive mapping kit #2 of fluorescently-labeled microsatellite
primer pairs is now available. This kit contains another 124
primer pairs (beyond the 120 pairs already in Kit #1) which have
been located on the East Lansing reference map. Information on
this kit, along with updated microsatellite loci and map information
for all published (and some unpublished) microsatellite loci are
now posted under "Microsatellite Marker Information and Available
Primer Kits" on our homepage at http://poultry.mph.msu.edu.
(These tables can be downloaded directly to your computer through
the FTP site of our Homepage.) Like Kit #1, kit #2 will be available
free of charge to those involved in major mapping efforts. Email
me (22314jbd@msu.edu) or Hans Cheng (hcheng@msu.edu) if you are
interested. ONE CAVEAT: Those markers in this Kit developed
by the Groenen lab (designated by "MCW") are the subject
of patent applications by Euribred B.V. which financed the Groenen
effort. Inquiries about the use of these primers for commercial
purposes should be directed to Euribred as noted in the reference
cited above. The kit is offered with the understanding that appropriate
use of potentially patented material is the responsibility of
the user and not of the Coordinators . A limited number of sets
of Primer Kit #1 still remain, along with sets of our Population
Tester Kit (9 highly polymorphic loci for strain identification
and test experiments).
COMING SOON: CHICKEN CONSENSUS GENETIC MAP POSTER:
We will soon have poster size copies of the latest
version of the Consensus Chicken Genetic Map printed. The Consensus
Map, which aligns the present East Lansing and Compton Maps, has
been derived by Nat Bumstead, Hans Cheng, and Lyman Crittenden
as indicated in the last issue. Posters will be sent out early
next year and will also be available at the San Diego PAG-V meeting.
Addresses:
Jerry Dodgson, Coord.
Dept. of Microbiology
Giltner Hall
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824
email: 22314jbd@msu.edu
Lyman Crittenden, Coordinator Emeritus.
Dept. of Microbiology
634 Emerson St.
University of Wisconsin
Madison, WI 53715
email: crittend@itis.com
Hans Cheng, Co-Coord.
ADOL
USDA-ARS
3606 E. Mt. Hope Ave.
East Lansing, MI 48824
email: hcheng@msu.edu
Scott Eisensmith, Database Analyst
same MSU address as above
email: eisensmi@poultry.mph.msu.edu
Supported by Regional Research Funds, Hatch Act, to the National Research Service Program: NRSP-8.
National Animal Genome Research Program, Richard Frahm, Director, CSREES
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