Newsletter Aug 02
These newsletters
are edited and distributed at irregular intervals by Dag Lindgren. Email me if
you want to be added or removed from the mailing list or your email-address
changed. If links does not function, try to use the variant from the web
instead!
An URL address to this Newsletter is:
http://daglindgren.upsc.se/Newsletters/Newsletter02to03/Newsletter_Aug02.htm
(the link has to be copied and pasted, note that it is broken on some emails)
Mini-course in Quantitative
Genetics and Breeding Theory Sept 16-18.
This will probably be the last course of this
type I teach at Umeå. I plan to deliver a mini-course in Quantitative Genetics and breeding theory
in Umeå 16-18 September. I regard it as suitable to scientists (who work with
breeding related issues), tree breeders, research students in forest genetics;
or research students in adjacent fields with an interest for or interface with
forest tree breeding. Some have participated in my similar mini-courses before,
and when participation may be considered less urgent.
It
will be 3 two hours lectures. I have booked the lecture room Sälgen A (floor 5,
"Skogis", Umeå) and an electronic projector for September 16, 17 and
18 from 9.15-11.00. Course information is available at
http://daglindgren.upsc.se/Courses/PostGrad/BreedSep02.htm
If
nothing else announced on that website, the course will take place as written
here.
If
someone outside Umeå wants to attend, please contact me latest at August 24 and
say if there are timing problems. I may reconsider the timing (concentrate it
to two days, change the time of the first lecture, to make it possible to
travel to Umeå in the morning 16 or something like that, but as I do not
foresee this I do not plan for it now).
The
performance will be presented mainly by my even if I may ask for assistance
from e.g. Darius. The reason to schedule the course now is that I now have five
potential attendants (visiting scientists) in the corridor, but I plan to
reduce these visitor activities in the future, and never foresee this will
happen again. This will be the last time I
deliver a similar course at Umeå. This is thus the last chance for Umeå
residents (reservation; the proposed research school may change
that, I will also probably make similar teaching on other places).
It
is basically the same stuff I presented earlier with some up dates.
Among
other things I will format my OHs to an electronic projector.
Part
of the content (so you can see what type of stuff is presented) is at
http://daglindgren.upsc.se/Breed_Home_Page/Tutorials/Quant_Gen/Kurs01A_for_site.htm
GMO trees in the center of attention!
Finland
has (in contrast to Sweden which does not harbor any field experiment with GMO
forest trees) two field experiments with GMO trees (birches). Both were visited
by demonstrators the last month, who marked the experiments with warning signs.
The association "Medborgarnas biosäkerhetsförening" arranged the
activity.
IPRs
in plant varieties
The July
2002 article in the FAO Legal Papers Online series is entitled
"Intellectual
property rights in plant varieties: An overview with options
for
national governments". Although not directly related to agricultural
biotechnology,
this article by Laurence R. Helfer is worth noting because of
the
indirect consequences of the topic on plant biotechnology. FAO Legal
Papers
Online is a series of articles and reports on legal issues of
contemporary
interest in the areas of food policy, agriculture, rural
development, biodiversity,
environment and natural resource management. See
http://www.fao.org/Legal/Prs-OL/lpo31.pdf
Conference on Quantitative Genetics and Genomics
The Gordon
Conference on Quantitative Genetics and Genomics will be held in Ventura,
California (just up the coast from LA) on Feb 9-14, 2003. For those that have not attended in the
past, the conference is a wonderful mix of quantitative geneticists ranging
from plant and animal breeders to human geneticists to evolutionary
biologists. Throw in the informal
setting of the Gordon conference -- a whale watching trip one afternoon, wine
tasting the next --- and you have a great way to interact with a very wide
range of researchers working on issues of the analysis of complex genetic
traits. Maybe I will be where. Details and a current working list of speakers
can be found at
http://nitro.biosci.arizona.edu/gordon2003.html
Vad fanns värt att veta om genetik
för nästan ett sekel sedan?
Jag bläddrade i Nordisk familjebok,
konversationslexikon från 1908.
Jag hittade ingenting om genetik.
Men några uppslagsord hittade jag, som föreföll
relevanta;...
Gen. Förkortning för lat. genitivus
och genus.
Gene ..fr. genom tortyr
framtvungen bekännelse....
Genetisk ... den vetenskapliga metod, som vid
behandlingen av ett visst ämne söker att giva en framställning av dettas
uppkomst och utveckling...
Spruce
breeding simulator
A study has
recently been published, and I would like to flag for it for two reasons. First
its numerical values should have relevance for the Swedish Norway spruce
breeding and it ought to be possible to make conclusions on strategic and
tactic of breeding, which ought to be relevant for parts of the Swedish
breeding program. We know that there are variable opinions and differences in
practical experiences and also variations in technical and biological details
on values of the input and further there are concept ional differences how to
interpret the input. Own values can easily be inserted in the workbook (see
below) for those who believe that our suggested values are not the most
relevant for how breeding is actually planned now. The study covers a range of
possible input and ought to support discussions. The other reason is that it will soon be a Nordic meeting in
Scotland focusing on whom you are kidding with clonal forestry. The study
strongly supports clonal testing (rather than progeny testing) as a component
of a breeding strategy, and thus contributes significantly to this kidding
business, which will be discussed in Scotland. Darius and I will actually bring
it for discussion in southern China at the same time. Danusevicius
D & Lindgren D 2002. Efficiency of Selection Based on Phenotype, Clone and Progeny Testing
in Long-term Breeding. Silvae Genetica 51:19-26. At "http://daglindgren.upsc.se/Papers/Articles2002-2003/BreedingCyclerTesting.htm"
Made use of the program "breeding cycler". Breeding
cycler is an Excel based simulator and is available on my web site at "http://daglindgren.upsc.se/Breed_Home_Page/Breeding_Cycler/", if someone wants to try own values or develop it for a broader
application.
Funding
survey
A funding survey focusing on of forest genetics based on enquiries has
been presented by Dr Fenning. The report is available on
http://daglindgren.upsc.se/fenning/FFS.doc
Dr Fenning has
asked me to forward his comments as follows;
"Although the number of respondents was unfortunately small, it
does seem apparent that the overall level of funding for forestry R&D (for
the regions from which replies were received at least) is at best flat relative
to scientific inflation, and may even be actually declining in absolute terms.
Given the clear importance of forests to us all, and the urgent need to
establish viable forest enterprises for achieving global sustainability, it
seems remarkable that governments and funding agencies in the developed regions
are apparently unable or unwilling to maintain the funding necessary for this
work to succeed, let alone to increase it.
The need for better links between the results likely to derive from the
emphasis on 'pure' research and applied field work, seems especially acute.
Because of it's small size, this funding survey is probably a weak
instrument to use in calling for a higher priority to be given to forestry
R&D needs, but I call on those already involved in this work to
aggressively lobby their governments and funding agencies for more
funding. Don't take no for an
answer! In the event of the expected
provarication, I suggest one asks them, how their respective government can
expect to meet its commitments for reducing CO2 build-up in the atmosphere and
global sustainability, if it is not doing
enough to encourage the development of forestry."
One of the
reactions on the June02 letter was that Matti focused my attention on a site,
which contains lots of generally valuable links:
Symposium (NCSU)
information at
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/nreos/forest/feop/ieg40.html
A Finnish thesis was presented some
months ago:
Nikkanen, Teijo. 2002. Functioning of a Norway spruce (Picea abies
(L.) Karst.) seed orchard
(väitöskirja). Seloste: Kuusen siemenviljelyksen toimivuus. Metsäntutkimuslaitoksen tiedonantoja 850 - Finnish Forest Research
Institute, Research Papers 850.- 58 p. + 85 p. (studies I-VI). [ISBN 951-40-1830-3]
Course
for undergraduates
I will arrange and
teach a course for undergraduates at Umeå about Forest Tree Breeding and seed
supply (5 Swedish points) October 30 - November 29. The course will be given. What
I know today it will get 4 Swedish and 5 foreign participants.
RGS is scheduled to meet September
20 at Uppsala and föreningen Skogsträdsförädling
November 18.
Strengthening Forest Genetics at SLU
In
the June Newsletter I informed that it exists a written suggestion
strengthening genetics ("research school"), which was discussed at a
meeting with the board of the faculty in June (although no documented
conclusions were made) and a meeting with föreningen in May. I did not mean to
imply that anything I consider positive will come out from it, I have now seen
too many papers and heard too much talk before to trust in that. But I find it
encouraging that someone is writing this type of documents, that would probably
not be the case if the interest for the issue was zero.
What
should I do with the rest of my life?
Probably I edit and author a book about forest tree breeding
focusing on related breeding theory. This is a five years project and would
keep me busy till I retire. Are there any suggestions or comments on this? If
it sounds interesting, you are welcome to contact me.
IPRs in plant varieties
The July
2002 article in the FAO Legal Papers Online series is entitled
"Intellectual property rights in plant varieties: An overview with options
for national governments". Although not directly related to agricultural
biotechnology, this article by Laurence R. Helfer is worth noting because of
the indirect consequences of the topic on plant biotechnology. FAO Legal
Papers Online is a series of
articles and reports on legal issues of contemporary interest in the areas of
food policy, agriculture, rural development, biodiversity, environment and
natural resource management. See http://www.fao.org/Legal/Prs-OL/lpo31.pdf
Newsletter
technical comments
The failure to
confirm in the April newsletter: The automatic confirmation feature. Unfortunately there is no common
standard as to how this feature should be implemented. Different e-mail clients
can seldom interpret each other's requests for a confirmation. If they receive
such a request, they do nothing. Webmasters can prevent the function and an
individual user can also forbid it.
For
how long will these newsletters remain? I intend to go on a sabbatical to US in the end of
this year, and when I intend to terminate this service. Three subscribers
responded to this "threat" by asking me to continue, I have in other
connections got strong positive statements from around 5 subscribers. Something
like 8 enthusiasts is too few. I can see that around one third of “newcomers”,
who could register if they were recommended or it was seen as a valuable
service. E.g. of the doctorands at forest genetics Uppsala, which has came the
last five years has no one asked for the service. Thus I conclude that the
demand for a continued service is too meagre. One function the letters serves
is information to my immediate surrounding. But this it is easier to target
that need separately and it will be more complete in that way. The newsletter
also serves the function to express my own thoughts on things, and I may feel a
need to do that in the autumn 2003, so I will not exclude that I make a final
number then.