Pig Genome Update No. 30

angenmap@iastate.edu
May 1, 1998 

Table of Contents:                                               # of lines
 1. The Food Genome Initiative Program ................................. 15
 2. National Animal Genome Research Program Update ...................... 9
 3. Genome Coordinator Positions ........................................ 6
 4. Please Get Involved and Help Promote Animal Genome Work ............. 7
 5. Primers, Primer, Primers ............................................ 7
 6. Your Ideas for New Primers .......................................... 4
 7. What's New on the NAGRP Pig Genome Web Site ......................... 7
 8. Support for Travel to ISAG is Available but Limited ................. 6
 9. The First International Workshop on Pig Chromosome 13 .............. 13
10. Crittenden Enters Poultry Hall of Fame ............................. 17
11. A Special Conference: From Jay Lush to Genomics .................... 11
12. Meeting Updates .................................................... 52

THE FOOD GENOME INITIATIVE PROGRAM - ROUND 2! A meeting was held on April 15 in Washington to discuss the USDA's Food Genome Initiative and to offer public comments on a draft copy of this initiative which had been previously circulated. The draft document proposes a multi-faceted program targeting food-related plant, animal and microbial genome research and applications and would ramp up spending by the USDA to a total of $100 million per year. Areas of emphasis include bioinformatics, functional genomics, physical maps, QTLs and generation of ESTs. Attending the meeting were Dr. Colin Scanes, advisor for NRSP-8, Dr. Daniel Pomp, NRSP-8 chair, and genome coordinators Ernie Bailey and Max Rothschild. On behalf of NRSP-8 scientists, Dr. Scanes submitted several very useful comments as did the other participants. Plans now are for the document to be revised in the near future. If you would like a copy of the Initiative document or wish to send comments, please email Dr. Sally Rockey of CSREES at sroc key@reeusda.gov.

NATIONAL ANIMAL GENOME RESEARCH PROGRAM UPDATE. The renewal proposal for the NAGRP support program (NRSP-8) has been approved by Station Directors in the North Central, Western, Southern and Northeast Regions. We all should give a special thank you to Drs. Colin Scanes, Dick Frahm, and the advisors from each of the regions. Thanks also go to Dr. Jerry Dodgson and members of the writing committee. ). The NRSP-8 Renewal Proposal (prior to recent modifications), Critical Review, and Publications List are available, under (http://poultry.mph.msu.edu , under the "About" button).

GENOME COORDINATOR POSITIONS. The request for proposals from those who wish to be Species Coordinators was circulated to NRSP-8 members officially on April 22. The Coordinator proposals will be due on May 22. All interested members (the PI must be from a participating Experiment Station) are encouraged to apply. Information can be obtained from Shirley Riney (sriney@iastate.edu)

PLEASE GET INVOLVED AND HELP PROMOTE ANIMAL GENOME WORK. The recent meetings of the species committees from NRSP8 at PAGVI were excellent examples of the progress we as animal genome scientists are making. It also served as a time to get together and discuss how we need to move beyond the NRSP-8 renewal. We need to continue to inform the researchers, administrators and the public we work with of the importance of genome research involving farm animals and aquaculture.

PRIMERS, PRIMERS, PRIMERS! The next set of 53 pairs of fluorescent primers are made and ready for shipping. As before, please request these only if you plan to use the entire set and you will acknowledge that these were a part of the USDA/CSREES sponsored pig genome coordination program. To request them, please email the pig genome coordinator at mfrothsc@iastate.edu. We have also ordered another set of 24 pairs of primers (Set 5) to be made which will be available about June 1.

YOUR IDEAS FOR NEW PRIMERS! We are still planning to make at least one more set of primers for this fiscal year. Please send ideas and marker numbers to mfrothsc@iastate.edu by no later than June 1. Other ideas for sharing materials would be greatly ap preciated.

WHAT'S NEW ON THE NAGRP PIG GENOME WEB SITE? If you look at: http://www.genome.iastate.edu two new buttons now exist. A "What’s New" button and a new "Hotlinks" (Red Chili pepper) button have been added to our NAGRP Pig Genome Web Site. These links will be updated on a regular basis. The Hotlink for this week is about a recent news note that appeared in Nature Genetics: "Getting more from your sequence on the web". Recommendations for future "hotlinks" are appreciated!

SUPPORT FOR TRAVEL TO ISAG IS AVAILABLE BUT LIMITED. At present there have been many requests. The Coordinator will be able to provide some funds ($500-$700) to one person per Experiment Station if you are presenting an abstract. If you have not already contacted the Coordinator at mfrothsc@iastate.edu, please do so by May 10. Please send a copy of your abstract.

THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON PIG CHROMOSOME 13 will be held on Sunday August 9, 1998 in conjunction with the International Society of Animal Genetics (ISAG) meeting in Auckland, New Zealand. You are invited to attend. The Workshop will be held near the ISAG conference center and will last one day. Registration will be 30 New Zealand dollars (about 20 USD), which includes a lunch and coffee breaks. This represents for participants only half of these costs; as the remaining funds has been generously donated by the U.S. National Pig Genome Coordination program, one of the sponsors of this Workshop. PIC USA has also generously donated funds to help cover costs of speakers for this workshop. For more details please contact Chris Tuggle at cktuggle@iastate.edu or see the previous newsletter (kindly provided by Chris Tuggle)

CRITTENDEN ENTERS POULTRY HALL OF FAME! We recently received notice from Jerry Dodgson that former coordinator for the Poultry Genome, Lyman Crittenden, had been selected for induction into the Poultry Hall of Fame. A plaque with Critt's likeness is being prepared to hang in the Hall which is housed in the National Ag Library in Beltsville with an inscription as follows: "Dr. Lyman B. Crittenden was a research geneticist with the Agricultural Research Service for 33 years. His early seminal research identified dominant virus receptor genes associated with the inheritance of susceptibility to avian leukosis viruses. He developed the first experimental line of chickens lacking endogenous retroviruses that is widely used in commercial and academic res earch laboratories worldwide. Dr. Crittenden subsequently led in the development of the first trangenic chicken that was resistant to infection by an exogenous strain of leukosis virus. He also led in the implementation of the chicken genome mapping project. His creative research encompassed avian genetics, retroviral oncology, immunology and molecular biology" (kindly provided by Jerry Dodgson).

A SPECIAL CONFERENCE: FROM JAY LUSH TO GENOMICS: Visions for Animal Breeding and Genetics will be held May 16-18, 1999 at Iowa State University Ames, Iowa. This not-to-be-missed conference will bring together quantitative and molecular geneticists from industry, government, and academe to discuss the future of animal breeding and genetics in light of changes in the fields of molecular genetics and informatics. The program will feature eleven plenary lectures by renowned international scientists and a poster session of current research by participants. The schedule is arranged to encourage participant interaction and discussion. Information on the program and speakers can be seen at http://www.public.iastate.edu/~ans/graduate/visions.html .

MEETING UPDATES:

Contributions to Pig Genome Update 31, including short meeting announcements, are always welcome. Please send by June 10. 

                    Max Rothschild
                    U.S. Pig Genome Coordinator
                    225 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
Paid for by funds from the NRSP-8 USDA/CSREES sponsored Pig Genome Coordination Program
http://www.genome.iastate.edu"
Mailing list: angenmap@iastate.edu

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