The workshop is organized in collaboration with the Graduate Schools Wageningen Institute of Animal Sciences (WIAS) and Production Ecology & Resource Conservation (PE&RC), the Plant Breeding Group of PRI and the Centre for Genetic Resources The Netherlands (CGN).
Admission is free after registration and includes lunch. Please indicate if a poster will be presented.
MORNING PROGRAMME
09.30 hrs. Coffee
09-45 hrs. Welcome by the chairman: Professor Johan van Arendonk (WIAS-director, ASG-WUR Wageningen)
10.00 hrs. Professor Kuke Bijlsma (RUG, Groningen): Genetic erosion and the persistency of biodiversity
Small population size inevitably is connected with genetic erosion, reducing the adaptive potential and fitness of individuals. Surprisingly little is known about the precise nature of the underlying causes, and key questions like (i) what is inbreeding depression (IB) and what is the nature of the genes involved?, (ii) is IB always a problem?, (iii) does the level of IB depend on environmental conditions?, (iv) can we prevent IB?, (v) if IB occurs can we alleviate the problems?, (vi) are IB problems of significance only at the short-term? I will discuss the current state of affairs concerning these issues in relation to the persistence of biodiversity.
10.45hrs. Dr. René Smulders (PRI - WUR, Wageningen): Conservation of genetic diversity in natural populations and ecosystems
For the conservation of genetic diversity in natural populations and ecosystems, we apply molecular markers to detect and quantify dispersal and introgression as a function of landscape structure. The main problem is to disentangle history and current patterns in the absence of temporal series of samples. One example given is a modification of isolation-by-distance analysis to deal with heterogeneous landscapes. Another example is the use of multilocus microsatellite haplotypes, rather than single loci. Since these have a shorter lifespan, sharing of the same haplotypes between populations indicates recent gene flow. Finally, we will use spatially explicit models to simulate the conservation or loss of genetic diversity in various plant and animal species under different scenarios of landscape planning in response to climate change.
11.30 hrs. Dr. Jack Windig (ASG & CGN, WUR, Lelystad): Genetic management of small populations.
High inbreeding rates, loss of genetic diversity and risk of extinction are the fate of small populations. Apart from increasing population sizes other measures may counter these threats. A range of sophisticated statistic and molecular tools have been developed for genetic management. An overview will be given with examples from agricultural populations and possible applications in wild populations. Molecular markers help to estimate relationships for prioritizing populations and animals for conservation. Smart exchange of individuals and selection of parents minimize inbreeding rates.
12.30 hrs. Lunch and viewing posters
AFTERNOON PROGRAMME
Chair Sipke Joost Hiemstra (CGN-WUR, Lelystad)
13.30 hrs. Hendrik Jan Megens (ASG-WUR, Wageningen) Chicken genomics, or why biodiversity matters.
13.45 hrs. Hans Peter Koelewijn (Alterra-WUR, Wageningen) Genetic monitoring of the Dutch otter reintroduction project.
14.00 hrs. Hilde van Pelt (ASG-WUR, Wageningen) Genetic conservation aspects of fish barcoding.
14.15 hrs. Henri Woelders (CGN & ASG-WUR, Lelystad) Gene-banking of Dutch rare poultry breeds: cryobiology and genetics
14.30 hrs. Sebastian Mucha (CGN & ASG-WUR, Lelystad) Genetic management of the Dutch Landrace Goat
14.45 hrs. TEA BREAK
15.15 hrs. Maurice La Haye (Alterra-WUR, Wageningen & Animal Ecology RUN, Nijmegen) Genetic aspects of the breeding program for the threatened Hamster in the Netherlands.
15.30 hrs. Solomon Gebremichael (ASG-WUR, Wageningen & ILRI Ethiopia) Conservation priorities for Ethiopian sheep breeds
15.45 hrs. Herwin Eding (Institut für Tierzucht, Neustadt Germany) International perspectives on conservation of national genetic resources
16.00 hrs. Piter Bijma (ASG-WUR, Wageningen) Some examples of research on conservation genetics of zoo populations.
16.15 hrs. Hans Lenstra (UU, Utrecht) Geographic patterns of cattle, sheep and goat diversity: clines, clusters, introgression and a dilemma for conservation.
16.30 hrs. CLOSURE