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Moderated conference on Genomics in Food and Agriculture

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Biotech-Mod3 <[log in to unmask]>
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Biotech-Mod3 <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Fri, 22 Mar 2013 15:41:42 +0100
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I am Dr. A. Sudhakar, Ph.D in Animal Genetics and Breeding and presently working with the National Dairy Development Board, India. 

At first I would like to thank the enablers of the e-Conference (John Ruane and the FAO team) and contributors by sharing their experiences.

I would like to highlight a few areas where knowledge of genomics is used currently:

1. The identification of the FecB mutation (major allele increasing litter size) in sheep and its association with litter size has sparked interest amongst the various stakeholders in Asia, especially India and China. Thanks to the efforts of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia and the	Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute (NARI), India, marker-assisted introgression of the FecB allele in local sheep breeds is lowly gaining momentum. (e.g. Garole, Nilagiri breeds). [See the ABDC-10 proceedings for a case study on the FecB gene in India (http://www.fao.org/docrep/014/i2300e/i2300e00.htm) ...Moderator].

2. In livestock breeds in India, genomic information is collected from all agriculturally species and breeds to assess the genetic diversity, bottlenecks to assess the need for conservation programmes. (Bargur cattle)

3. Use of any bull in artificial insemination (AI) in India requires it to be parentage tested against a panel of marker alleles and screened for genetic defects like Bovine Leukocyte Adhesion Deficiency (BLAD), Citrullenemia, Deficiency of Uridine Monophosphate Synthase (DUMPS) and Factor XI deficiency. 

4. Genomic information is also used for confirmation of disease outbreaks and identifying pathogens.

5. Sexing in emu/ostrich where identifying sex of the chick is of high economic importance.
 
These are a few areas where I was involved either directly (1 and 3) or as an associate (2, 4 and 5) though the use of genomic information is small, either generating the required information by PCR-RFLP, SSCP or capillary sequencing.
 
Genomic tests based on whole genome sequencing for early identification of white spot syndrome virus in shrimp has been identified and may be available commercially soon in India. Use of genomic information for disease detection is very common among the farmers of India as the economic implications of disease outbreak in Shrimp farms are enormous.
  
I am sure a lot more applications are available in developing countries especially India, China and Brazil in agriculture. 
 
Apart from these applications, new strategies for using genomic information for selection of bull calves in the near future are being evolved (use of genomic information may also negate the need for pedigree data - highlighted by Mark Boggess, Message 20). If somebody could enlighten on this it would be highly useful to animal breeders in developing countries.
 
Since most developing countries host most of the global livestock population providing employment opportunities for a large section of the population, the potential of genomic technologies if harnessed properly should be enormous. (In the dairy sector approximately 50 million AI is performed in India every year and with a milk production of 127 million tonnes, economic opportunities involve job opportunities for few thousand AI technicians, opportunities in logistics, dairy production, processing and marketing of semen to milk). But since use of this technology is in the nascent stages, it might take more time before the genomic information available is put into many new applications.
 
I also wish the suggestion by Denis Murphy (Message 48) on informal global platform for exchange of ideas, experiences would soon materialize. Since the cost of purchase of many journals involves high cost for institutions, such platforms will be very useful and hopefully FAO shall take the lead. 
 
Further to ensure the new ideas in genomics are implemented in developing countries, FAO shall organize regional workshops/e-mail conferences with some sharing of videos in public domain, calling international experts to developing countries so that more people are exposed to technical intricacies. For example, FAO shall conduct regional conference/workshop on the need for genomic selection in species where artificial insemination are being performed to evolve strategies of implementation, creation and sharing of infrastructure for research and genotyping. 
 
Dr. A. Sudhakar M.V.Sc., Ph.D.
Deputy Manager (Animal Breeding)
National Dairy Development Board
Anand,
Gujarat, 
India
Ph : 91-2692-226255
Cell - 91-9726551268
e-mail: drsudhaakar (at) gmail.com

[To contribute to this conference, send your message to [log in to unmask] The last day for receiving messages is Sunday 24 March 2013].

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