Pig Genome Update No. 67

angenmap@db.genome.iastate.edu
July 1, 2004

1. Swine Genome Sequencing Consortium continues to try to reach its goal
2. New array materials likely to become available in the near future
3. International sequencing consortium launches online resource
4. The new CSREES web site is up and running
5. A new funding opportunity within the USDA-CSREES NRI program
6. A bioinformatics update from the Bioinformatics Coordinator
7. Upcoming meetings (10 items)

Swine Genome Sequencing Consortium continues to try to reach its goal. Efforts are progressing to advance the sequencing of the pig genome. The most recent meeting for the pig sequencing project was held at Sanger Institute (Cambridge, UK), June 28th 2004. This meeting was mainly devoted to establishing a sound base for the sequencing effort - integration of the physical maps, fingerprints and BES and to the definition of a BAC tilling path. The Consortium consider that the pig is very well placed for an extremely efficient sequencing effort using the "hybrid" approach and emphasis can be placed on ensuring valuable intermediate outputs throughout the project. This provided the basis for an encouraging discussion of fund raising. The next meeting will be held during ISAG meeting (Tokyo, Japan) September 2004. It is planned that the ISAG meeting will focus on the sequencing strategy. We need to continue to work towards finalizing a funding plan before October 1, 2004. Interested parties are encouraged to participate in the future. If you can help in raising these funds please contact Larry Schook at UIUC or Max Rothschild, at ISU (kindly provided by Graham Plastow).

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New array materials likely to become available in the near future. There have been a number of requests for arrays from NRSP8 members and others both inside and outside the United States. To meet this demand we are considering buying a set of oligos and selling slides on $60-$65 cost per slide with minimum orders of 25 required and maximum orders of 150 slides. This would be available to both NRSP8 members and others both inside and outside the US. Slide orders would be on a first come first serve basis. If you are interested please immediately contact Max Rothschild at mfrothsc@iastate.edu .

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International sequencing consortium launches online resource. The International Sequencing Consortium (ISC) has launched a free, online resource where scientists and the public can get the latest information on the status of sequencing projects for animal, plant and other eukaryotic genomes. The new resource can be accessed through ISC's home page, http://www.intlgenome.org . The database enables users to quickly sort sequencing project information by organism, by sequencing group or by funding agency. Information about each sequencing project includes timetables for completion, along with brief descriptions of sequencing strategies being employed. In many cases, the database also features links to the individual sequencing projects' Web sites and the sites of their funding agencies, such as NHGRI. Also available are links to other publicly run databases where the actual DNA sequence data is deposited.

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The new CSREES web site is up and running. For this page to be effective it is important that it be kept "current". Please send any events or topic information to Dr. Muquarrab Qureshi USDA-CSREES MQureshi@CSREES.USDA.GOV. You may want to post notices such as meetings or conferences, as long as they are related to this webpage. You can access the web and the page as follows: www.csrees.usda.gov and then going to the section on Animals and Animal Products and looking for the programs on Animal Breeding and Genetics and Genomics.

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A new funding opportunity within the USDA-CSREES National Research Initiative (NRI) grants program now exists. The program is 66.0 Enhancing the Prosperity of Small Farms and Rural Agricultural Communities (www.csrees.usda.gov/fo/fundview.cfm?fonum=1200). Proposals must be received by October 5, 2004. Integrated research, education, and extension project awards for this program are expected to have a total budget (including indirect costs) of no more than $500,000 for 2-4 years of support. Questions regarding the suitability of proposals should be directed to Dr. Siva Sureshwaran (ssureshwaran@csrees.usda.gov) or Dr. Diana Jerkins (djerkins@csrees.usda.gov).

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A bioinformatics update from the Bioinformatics Coordinator. For the past six months, efforts have been involved in two main projects related to pigs 1) design and creation of a QTL database for pigs, and 2) development of a bioinformatic tool for primer design. The QTL database is being developed and implemented in collaboration with NCBI. A preliminary implementation of the database can be found at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/LocusLink/list.cgi . Simply query 'QTL and Sus Scrofa' for entire list of QTLs. The primer design tool has been designed and implemented with a perl CGI driven program. This tool is currently in beta testing and should be released for public use shortly. In addition, work to develop a database that researchers can obtain all livestock DNA sequences without having to query NCBI is underway. This tool is in the development stage and should be available to the community shortly. Please contact jreecy@iastate.edu with any suggested projects or bioinformatic needs.

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Upcoming meetings (see: http://www.genome.iastate.edu/community/meetings.html ) Additional items can be found at: http://www.agbiotechnet.com/calendar/index.asp .

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Items for Pig Genome Update 68 can be sent to me by no later than August 15 please.
                    Max Rothschild
                    U.S. Pig Genome Coordinator
                    2255 Kildee Hall, Department of Animal Science
                    Iowa State University
                    Ames, Iowa 50011
                    Phone: 515-294-6202, Fax: 515-294-2401
                    mfrothsc@iastate.edu

cc: Muquarrab Qureshi, CSREES and Caird Rexroad II, 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@db.genome.iastate.edu


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