Natural Hybridization and Introgression

Thure Hauser, Senior Scientist at Risø National Laboratory in Denmark sent the following workshop announcement:

First Announcement of Workshop and Ph.D. course:

“Natural hybridization and introgression: from genomics to ecology”
Denmark, November 27-30, 2004

The goal of this workshop is to discuss genetics, genomics and ecology of hybridization and gene introgression. We will concentrate on newer findings on the effects of specific genes and -interactions, genotype x environment interactions, changes in genomes subsequent to hybridization, gene expression, regulation etc.

The role of hybridization in evolution is more debated and empirically better supported than ever, due to new insights into genetics, genomics and ecology of hybrids. It is now widely recognized that hybridization may have a variety of evolutionary and ecological consequences, and a major goal is to understand their frequencies, conditions and mechanisms. At the same time, hybridization and introgression is becoming increasingly relevant for human management of e.g. survival of indigenous populations, invasive species, genetically modified organisms, maintenance of genetic resources, etc.

Three invited speakers will take part in the workshop:
Allison Snow, Professor in the Dept. of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, Ohio State University (Lab), will present: “Effects of hybridization between crops and their weedy relatives: the potential for rapid evolutionary change.”

Michael Arnold, Professor in the Dept. of Genetics, University of Georgia (Lab), will present: “Natural Hybridization and evolution: from genetics to ecology and back again”.

Andreas Madlung, Assistant Professor in the Biology Department, University of Puget Sound, will present: “Genomic structure and stability, epigenetic changes and transposon activity in auto- and allopolyploid hybrids of Arabidopsis”.

In addition, there will be oral and poster presentations by participating researchers and Ph.D. students. But most importantly, there will be plenty of time for discussion and exchange of ideas.

The course will take place at a course facility ca. 50 km north of Copenhagen. Participation fee, including room and board, will be 270 EUR maximum, possibly lower. Travel is at the participants own expense. A maximum of 30 persons can take part in the workshop. Students will receive a certificate stating their participation (active, if presenting research, or passive) to be used for university credits.

For preliminary registration (to be confirmed later), contact Mette Hansen. Please indicate whether you would like to give an oral presentation or poster, and enclose a brief abstract of its content (please note: only a few presentations will be accepted). For more information, contact Thure Hauser, fax: +45 4677 4160.

Organizing committee: Thure Hauser, Senior Scientist, Risø National Lab.; Christian Damgaard, Senior Scientist, National Environmental Research Inst.; Erik Kjær, Professor, Forest Genetics, Royal Veterinary and Agricultural Univ.; Dorte Bekkevold, Scientist, and Einar Eg Nielsen, Senior Scientist, Danish Institute for Fisheries Research.

Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 2:52 PM on July 12, 2004