Partial Support for U.S. Participation in Workshop "Unlocking and Developing Collections for Genomic Research"

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Partial Support for U.S. Participation in Workshop "Unlocking andDeveloping Collections for Genomic Research"Oliver RyderZoological Society of San DiegoAbstractThe tremendous advances being made in DNA sequencing technology now make it possible to generate and analyze extensive genomic information from extinct organisms and species on the brink of extinction, thereby providing a remarkable opportunity to use genomic sequences to study the extinction process. The results of recent studies that incorporate advancements in genome sequencing technology and methods to extract sufficient amounts of serviceable DNA are expanding the contributions of paleogenomic studies to the field of paleontology. The ability and to capture genetic information from animals and plants on the brink of extinction and to retrospectively analyze genetic attributes of extinct animals provides a new source of information applicable to evaluating the impacts of changing environments, including the impacts of newly emerging diseases and climate alterations on the persistence or decline of species over tens of thousands of years. The technological developments in DNA sequencing technology that are crucial to the developing field of paleogenomics and the genomics of extinction focus attention on the crucial importance of collections of samples useful for these studies. Collections of frozen specimens and Museum collections will provide vital samples to study changes taking place over time in changing environments. In order to provide a perspective for the utilization of museum collections, including collections of frozen biomaterials and DNA specimens, convening of scientific workshops provides a forum for discussion of preservation methods and development of collaborative studies. This proposal facilitates the participation of six U.S.-based scientists who are experts in this newly-emerging field, to participate in a workshop entitled ?Unlocking and Developing Collections for Genomic Research? to be held on June 11, 2010, at the Natural History Museum in London, and an accompanying Linnaean Society Meeting the preceding day entitled ?Sequencing the Red and the Dead?. Their attendance at this meeting is important for U.S. scientists to maintain a competitive advantage in this newly emerging field of investigation.