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Moderated conference on Genomics in Food and Agriculture

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Biotech-Mod3 <[log in to unmask]>
Mon, 25 Mar 2013 17:50:28 +0100
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This is Acacia Alcivar-Warren from Environmental Genomics Inc, a small consulting firm in Massachusetts, USA, and an unpaid part-time volunteer at the UNA SALUD/ONE HEALTH Genomics & Epigenetics Program of the Fundación para la Conservación de la Biodiversidad Acuática y Terrestre (FUCOBI) of Ecuador.

I agree with Dr. Dubock (Message 54) that the conference is lacking on "animal 'omics'" information. On March 14, 2013, I sent a message to the AnGenMap Discussion Mailing List (http://www.animalgenome.org/community/discuss) distributed to 2365 members, some of whom are members of the National Animal Genome Research Program (NRSP-8, funded by the United States Department of Agriculture [USDA]) that include cattle, chicken, pig, sheep, aquaculture and horse. I requested that the NRSP-8 species coordinators and/or members of the list contribute to this conference by sending a short list of accomplishments with examples of practical applications to increase production for each animal species. I imagine the coordinators may be very busy at this time and they were unable to participate in this conference. Their information could have been very useful to participants from developing countries. Indeed, developed countries like the United States could also benefit from collaborating with researchers from developing countries to address emerging new zoonotic diseases and safety of imported food. For instance, by collaborating with teachers, governmental, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from tropical countries in Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia, genome x environmental interactions due to climate change need to be considered in order to increase productivity of local seafood. In the US, shrimp imports alone cause an estimated ~$4 billion annual trade deficit, and collaborations with researchers from developing countries that export to the US and EU would help not only to increase production of good-quality/safe animal products short-term, but also contribute to address food security issues long-term.

I would like to make a small contribution to the issue of "animal 'omics'" by providing the web link to information on 'omics' accomplishments listed for the six animal groups included in NRSP-8, and hope the information is valuable to the conference participants: http://www.animalgenome.org/community/NRSP-8/2014-2018.proposal/ACCOMPLISHMENTS_2008-2012_revised.pdf (220 KB).

The websites for each NRSP-8 coordination group is included below, and I encourage young (and old) scientists all over the world to benefit from immediate training in bioinformatics:

Aquaculture : http://www.animalgenome.org/aquaculture/
Cattle : http://www.animalgenome.org/cattle/
Horse: http://www.uky.edu/Ag/Horsemap/
Poultry: http://poultry.mph.msu.edu/
Sheep: http://www.animalgenome.org/sheep/
Swine: http://www.animalgenome.org/pigs/
Bioinformatics: http://www.animalgenome.org/bioinfo/

Thanks to FAO for this important conference. I am hopeful that animal researchers can also be part of a "global genomics/breeding forum" as proposed for plants. As mentioned by Dr. Dubock, the potential benefits of the 'omics' field is huge, but requires sustained funding and commitment if we really want to solve long-term problems of food safety and food security for ALL.

Acacia Alcivar-Warren, D.V.M., M.Sc., Ph.D.
Senior Scientist, ONE HEALTH Genomics & International Programs
International Marine Shrimp Environmental Genomics Initiative (IMSEGI):
Monitoring Ecosystem, Animal and Public Health
Environmental Genomics, Inc. (EGI)
Southborough, MA 01772-1801 
United States of America 
Phone: +(508) 624-6564; (508) 344-8106 (cell)
Email: environmentalgenomics.warren (at) gmail.com

Director, UNA SALUD/ONE HEALTH Genomics & Epigenetics Program
Fundación para la Conservación de la Biodiversidad Acuática y Terrestre (FUCOBI)
Guayaquil, 
Ecuador
Tel.: +(593 2) 0995878656; 023340913
www.fucobi.org
Email: fucobi (at) gmail.com
Chair, IMSEGI session, Aquaculture America 2014, Seattle Washington USA, February 9-12, 2014 
www.was.org

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