Science programme – Breeding for Bacon, Beer, and Biofuels

 Thursday 16 April 2015

11:45 Buses leave Central Edinburgh
Meeting point will be in front of the George Hotel

12:30 – 13:00 Arrival and Lunch

13:00 – 13:10 Welcome and housekeeping by Alan Archibald

Speakers:
13:10 – 13:50 Jack Dekkers (Iowa State University, USA)
Genomic Selection for Crossbred Performance in Livestock
13:50 – 14:00 Selected Oral Presentation – Anne-Michelle Faux (The Roslin Institute and Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom)A software package for simulating plant breeding programs using genomic information
14:00 – 14:40 Chris-Carolin Schön (Technische Universität München, Germany)Building a unified framework for prediction of complex plant phenotypes

14:40 – 15:00 Coffee/tea break

15:00 – 15:40 Jennie Pryce (La Trobe University, Australia)Using genomics to improve feed efficiency in dairy cows
15:40 – 15:50 Selected Oral Presentation – Reuben Pengelly (University of Southampton, United Kingdom)Linkage disequilibrium maps highlight differential selection pressures between three breeds of Gallus gallus
15:50 – 16:30 Alison Bentley (The John Bingham Laboratory, UK)Applied genetics for wheat pre-breeding
16:30 – 17:10 Thomas Lubberstedt (Iowa State University, USA)Speeding up Plant Breeding

17:10 – 17:20 Comfort Break

Medal:
17:20 – 18:15 Mendel Medal Lecture – John Doebley (University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA)
The genetic architecture of maize domestication: Low hanging fruit and dark matter

18:15 – 18:45 Genetics Society AGM

18:20 – 19:30 Drink Reception and poster viewing

19:30 Buses leave for George Hotel

20:15 Conference Dinner at George Hotel

Friday 17 April 2015

08:00 Buses leave Central Edinburgh
Meeting point will be in front of the George Hotel

Speakers:
08:30 – 09:10 Helen Sang (The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, UK)
Applying genetic modification in the chicken for breed improvement
09:10 – 09:50 Li-Hua Zhu (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden)Domestication of a new oilseed crop Lepidium campestre
09:50 – 10:30 Graham Moore (John Innes Centre, UK)To recombine or not recombine: That is the question?
10:30 – 11:10 Heiner Niemann (Friedrich Loeffler Institute, Germany)Genetic modifications of farm animals using DNA nucleases

11:10 – 15:00 Long Break – A packed lunch will be provided
For people wishing to attend Professor Stephen Bishop funeral, buses will leave at 11:15 and will be back at the Roslin Institute at 15:00. For people not attending, an excursion to the Rosslyn Chapel is organised. Buses will leave at 12:45

15:00 – 15:40 Anna Sonesson (Nofima, Norway)Breeding for healthy food- Atlantic salmon and its healthy omega-3 fatty acids
15:40 – 15:50 Selected Oral Presentation – Marcel Lafos (Dundee University, United Kingdom)Regulation of plant development by miRNA-targeted transcription factor families
15:50 – 16:30 Catherine Howarth (University of Aberystwyth, UK)Development and use of enhanced breeding tools for oats
16:30 – 16:40 Selected Oral Presentation – Laura Corbin (University of Bristol, United Kingdom)Genetic dissection of complex phenotypes
16:40 – 17:20 John Hickey (The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, UK)Next generation animal and plant breeding

17:20 – 17:30 Closing remarks, followed by short refreshment break for people attending the postgraduate event

17:30 – 21:00 Postgraduate Event
All those registered for the event are welcome regardless of postgrad status. Prize will be awarded for best postgrad poster. Fun evening event at the Sheep’s Heid, to include buffet and skittles.

17:30 – 17:45 Selected Oral Presentation – Fiona Milton (Roslin Institute, United Kingdom)Selection over time in pigs
17:45 – 18:00 Selected Oral Presentation – Andrew Mason (The Roslin Institute, United Kingdom)A New Look at the LTR retrotransposon content of the chicken genome
18:00 – 18:15 Selected Oral Presentation – David Howard (The Roslin Institute & R(D)SVS, United Kingdom)The efficacy of using imputed haplotypes to detect lethal recessive effects in pigs
18:15 – 18:30 Selected Oral Presentation – Xiaowei Mao (Aarhus University, Denmark)Association studies for growth index in three dairy cattle breeds using whole-genome sequence variants
18:30 – 18:45 Selected Oral Presentation – Angus Reid (University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom)Genetic selection for expression of a growth gene in chickens

18:45 – 19:00 Questions time and closing comments

19:15 Bus to the Sheeps Heid
Fun evening event at the Sheep’s Heid, to include buffet and skittles