International Workshop on Copepod Genomics

将于2008年在泰国举办一次关于桡足类基因组学的国际讲习班，同时召开世界桡足动物学家协会会议。这一奖项的资金将部分或全部支持来自不同背景和机构的至少12名处于不同职业生涯阶段的科学家(从学生到高级调查人员)。这次研讨会的目的是让研究人员参与制定战略，以开发桡足类的基因组学资源，桡足类是海洋中组成最丰富的多细胞生物的一组浮游生物。作为初级和次级消费者，它们构成了食物网中的主要环节，养育了许多具有商业和生态重要性的鱼类。桡足类是野生和养殖无脊椎动物和鱼类的重要经济寄生虫。有些是霍乱等疾病的传播媒介，有些则有效地减少了蚊子传播的疾病。由于人类活动，包括全球气候的大规模变化，水环境受到越来越大的威胁。通过应用基因组学、蛋白质组学和其他先进技术，可以提高准确评估和/或预测这种变化对水环境的复杂影响的能力。提高桡足类序列信息的可获得性是开发新工具和应用先进技术以解决关于这一具有生态和经济重要性的群体的基本和应用问题所必需的第一步。

An International Workshop on Copepod Genomics will be held in Thailand in 2008 in conjunction with the meeting of the World Association of Copepodologists. Funds from this award will partially or fully support at least 12 scientists at various stages in their careers (from students to senior investigators) from a diverse set of backgrounds and institutions. The goal of this workshop is to engage researchers in the development of strategies that will lead to the development of genomics resources for copepods, a group of plankton which comprise the most abundant multicellular organisms in the oceans. As primary and secondary consumers, they form major links in the food web which support many commercially and ecologically important fish. Copepods are economically important parasites of wild and cultured invertebrates and fish. Some are vectors for diseases such as cholera and others are effective in reducing mosquito borne diseases. Aquatic environments are under increasing threat due to human activities, including large-scale changes in the global climate. The ability to accurately assess and/or predict the complex effects of such changes on the aquatic environment can be improved by the application of genomics, proteomics and other advanced technologies. Improving the availability of sequence information for copepods is a required first step towards the development of new tools and the application of advanced technologies to address basic and applied questions about this ecologically and economically important group.