This is from Prof. Sudarsono of IPB, Bogor, Indonesia again.
I would like to add some opinions on the importance of training and more data access about the genomic sequences. I would agree with Rajeev Varshney's statement (Message 28) that we, in the developing countries may not be able to keep up with the changing technology and the cost of the genome sequencing even if it is continually going down. [Rajeev wrote ".. several colleagues in developing countries still feel that they should be able to undertake genomics-assisted breeding only if they are involved in generation of genotyping data. As sequencing and genotyping technologies are changing (evolving) continuously, I don't think that majority of national programmes in developing countries are ready to keep on buying/upgrading those machines"...Moderator].
In the genomic side, however, it is necessary to continue to generate more genomic data, especially for crops that are important in the developing countries. The questions remain, what are the priority crops and how are we to set the list? Who will pay for the cost of generating the data and where are they going to be stored, and in what form, might be the next questions? Last, but not least, what efficient tools are available for developing country scientists to use to fish the useful information from the generated genome sequence data, if any. The list of questions may go on and on. Therefore, I, as part of the developing country scientists interested in this new areas, may not just ask a question such as "give me an equipment and funding, and I will do the genomic sequencing."
It might be better to first have the understanding of what is the genomic sequence, how can we used it to support the breeding program, and what can I participate with if I am not a genomics expert but a plant breeder by training, a molecular biologist, or any expertise each of us have. The next thing we should want to know is where to get a helping hand if we want to do something, such as where to get the info and what specific genomic data are accessible? Of course for some of us, such a question may need follow up activities in the form of upgrading our competence through various available avenues that can be customized according to the needs. The point is, upgrading competencies of scientists from developing countries, making them aware of what genomics can do for them, and how to use the available resources are something that can be done by developed countries and probably FAO as stated by Gabriel Ataguba (Message 34) and Danlami Moses Ogah (Message 30).
I have heard that the Beijing Genomic Institute (BGI) has initiated a project to sequence the whole genome of thousands of plants and they have published a number of scientific papers about them. However, I have no idea whether the finished sequences are actually accessible to common scientists or just limited to some privileged ones.
To stress the point that was raised by Martin Tiznado (Message 31) about mango and avocado fruit, and maybe for many more tropical crops that are important for people in the tropics, the information about genomic data for these crops has been minimal. In such cases, any scientists from developing countries who are interested in working with these tropical crops will lack the supporting data and eventually have to generate the genomics data on their own. It might be important to put together human resources and interest of the developing country scientists about what crops should be selected for genome sequencing. The list may be very long but there always be a way to make a priority list of what will be done first and next. I would support the statement of Martin Tiznado that the use of genomics tools should be able to boost research of tropical fruits and also other important tropical crops.
To close my statement in this email conference, I would like to thank the organizers for inviting me and I hope that these activities will not stop after the email conference is closed. I hope that there will be many follow up activities answering some raised inquiries from participants.
Prof. Dr. Sudarsono, MSc. (Sudar)
PMB Lab, Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture,
Bogor Agricultural university (IPB),
Jl. Meranti - Darmaga Campus,
Bogor 16680
Indonesia
Email: s_sudarsono (at) ymail.com
Blog: http://pmblab.wordpress.com
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