Appendix A
Program and Discussion Questions
Remarkable progress has been made in the last few years to produce genomic maps of organisms important to agriculture such as Arabidopsis thaliana (mustard), Cochliomyia homin (screwworm), Caenorhabditis elegans (nematode), Oryza sativa (rice), Zea mays (maize), and Sus domesticus (swine). Identification of homologous chromosomes across species has raised questions as to the need to coordinate mapping activities. Increased cooperation among animal, microbial, and plant geneticists could reduce redundancy and increase genetic knowledge shared among researchers.
The National Research Council's Board on Agriculture in collaboration with the Board on Biology will hold another in a series of forums under the Forum on Biotechnology, to identify issues and opportunities in designing a USDA initiated agricultural genome project. Scientific experts from a variety of genome mapping programs will assemble for an open exchange of views in a neutral setting. Researchers from government, academe, and industry will share their perspectives on current programs and opportunities and issues for a more integrated genome initiative.
Forum Questions
- What is the status of some of the current genome mapping programs?
- What have been the most important issues for these mapping programs?
- What are the opportunities and issues in designing an agricultural genome mapping program?
Format
NRC will have a roundtable discussion to promote an open exchange of views among NAS members, federal agency administrators, industrial scientists, and university researchers. Three panels from USDA, other federal agencies, and private industry will share their experiences on Arabidopsis, maize, swine, rice, and human genome mapping projects. A summary report of the forum will be prepared for publication by the National Academy Press.