African Cattle Genomics Exchange | Karen Marshall - forum organiser | Activity

Karen Marshall - forum organiser posted a new activity comment

Fri, 26 Aug 2016 14:54:59 +0000

We come to the end of the forum time, and I very much thank everyone for their contributions. We will however leave the space open for the next few days, to allow for last comments and for people to view the summary posts.

Thanks Again, Karen.

In reply to - Karen Marshall – forum organiser wrote a new post, Building a genomic reference resource on African cattle Here we will discuss the need and potential for a Genomics Reference Resource for African Cattle – which […] ]]>

Karen Marshall - forum organiser posted a new activity comment

Fri, 26 Aug 2016 14:54:35 +0000

Thanks Again, Karen.

In reply to - Karen Marshall – forum organiser wrote a new post, Using genomic information on cattle in Africa Here we are discussing the applications of genomic (or genetic) information on cattle in Africa, both in the near […] ]]>

Karen Marshall - forum organiser posted a new activity comment

Fri, 26 Aug 2016 14:24:23 +0000

Thanks MIzeck and I fully agree – integration across disciplines is essential!

Karen Marshall - forum organiser posted a new activity comment

Fri, 26 Aug 2016 09:46:26 +0000

Thanks – and this aligns with some of the earlier contributions on current and potential use of genomics. In particular, one of the most commonly discussed applications was around determination of breed composition.

Karen Marshall - forum organiser posted a new activity comment

Thu, 25 Aug 2016 14:17:07 +0000

Hi all – looking forward to more contributions moving into the last day of the forum (tomorrow – Friday 26th August). And also please don’t forget the survey (accessed by the ‘take survey’ tab above).

Karen Marshall - forum organiser posted a new activity comment

Thu, 25 Aug 2016 14:16:51 +0000

Karen Marshall - forum organiser posted a new activity comment

Thu, 25 Aug 2016 14:03:11 +0000

Thanks Olori for your insights. We had some earlier discussion on incentives for farmer data recording – do you have any additional suggestions here?

Karen Marshall - forum organiser posted a new activity comment

Wed, 24 Aug 2016 18:22:43 +0000

Thanks Okeno – your comments align with what many others have contributed to the forum. Great to see a general consensus.

Karen Marshall - forum organiser posted a new activity comment

Wed, 24 Aug 2016 18:22:31 +0000

Thanks Asma. I would like to see a lot more effort towards developing new phenomic approaches that will meet the needs of Africans systems. Note their is some more discussion on this taking place in the ‘discuss-using’ page.

Karen Marshall - forum organiser posted a new activity comment

Tue, 23 Aug 2016 08:42:16 +0000

Thanks Heather – this is an extremely exciting initiative!

Karen Marshall - forum organiser posted a new activity comment

Tue, 23 Aug 2016 08:14:27 +0000

Thanks! Under the ‘discuss-using’ forum there has been discussion on linking institutional herd data with data from farmers, for the reasons you suggested. And also discussion on how we can help facilitate farmer recording, to strengthen farm data.

In reply to - Karen Marshall – forum organiser wrote a new post, Future applications of genomics in African livestock systems What genetic or genomic applications have the most potential to positively impact on the rural poor […] ]]>

Karen Marshall - forum organiser posted a new activity comment

Tue, 23 Aug 2016 07:19:31 +0000

It would also be interesting to hear of examples of new phenomic approaches being used in African systems, as well as elsewhere.

Karen Marshall - forum organiser posted a new activity comment

Tue, 23 Aug 2016 06:42:50 +0000

In relation to our current discussion topic (applications of a reference resource) I would like to add a starting suggestion.

The use of genomic information to determine breed composition of admixed animals is being increasingly used (there were several examples of this in mentioned in this forum – most commonly in relation to performance…[Read more]

Karen Marshall - forum organiser posted a new activity comment

Tue, 23 Aug 2016 06:40:33 +0000

Thanks Baitsi – Great to hear of an African genbank. Which country is the AU-PANVAC in, and when is the genebank expected to be operational?

Karen Marshall - forum organiser posted a new activity comment

Tue, 23 Aug 2016 06:22:32 +0000

Yes – and National Agricultural Research Institutes should also be involved

Karen Marshall - forum organiser wrote a new post, Support for Genomics Reference Resource for African Cattle

Mon, 22 Aug 2016 13:49:51 +0000

Summary of discussion to-date on the topic: Do you consider building a genomics reference resource for African cattle to be a worthwhile investment – why or why not?

In favour?

The majority of people who co […]

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Karen Marshall - forum organiser wrote a new post, Future applications of genomics in African livestock systems

Mon, 22 Aug 2016 11:46:02 +0000

What genetic or genomic applications have the most potential to positively impact on the rural poor in Africa – in the near future and longer term?

Main themes discussed on this topic to-date are:

The need fo […]

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Karen Marshall - forum organiser posted a new activity comment

Mon, 22 Aug 2016 11:06:44 +0000

Welcome to week two of this forum!

This week I wanted to concentrate on the design of the potential Genomics Reference Resource for African Cattle, but to do so we need to be more specific on the current discussion topic “What are the strategic research questions we can answer, or applications we can facilitate, with such a resource“, as this…[Read more]

Karen Marshall - forum organiser posted a new activity comment

Mon, 22 Aug 2016 10:54:37 +0000

Welcome to week two of this forum – thank-you very much to those who have participated to date, and I look forward to more challenging discussion.

Many people have commented on the need for phenotype information on African livestock – both in its own right and in support of genomic applications (such as genomic assisted prediction of breeding…[Read more]

Karen Marshall - forum organiser posted a new activity comment

Mon, 22 Aug 2016 07:06:33 +0000

Yes I agree, and if any forum participants have such examples please share them.

Karen Marshall - forum organiser posted a new activity comment

Mon, 22 Aug 2016 07:05:19 +0000

Thanks Olawale. My thoughts are that we shouldn’t think of any intervention as something that is universally needed – we should target it to systems where demand for the intervention exist, and also where other ‘success factors’ apply (e.g. favourable policy and institutional environment, or ability to create these). My feeling is that recording…[Read more]

Karen Marshall - forum organiser posted a new activity comment

Mon, 22 Aug 2016 06:44:35 +0000

Thanks Raphael for this update of the Dairy Genetics East Africa project, as well as your thoughts on how this could expand in the future. Their is often discussion on what is the minimum size of a reference population needed for genomic selection in African systems, such as smallhold systems (where their is often a lot of environmental noise…[Read more]

Karen Marshall - forum organiser posted a new activity comment

Fri, 19 Aug 2016 13:59:42 +0000

And on parentage testing – many people who have completed the survey indicated that they felt this was in demand from stakeholders. Are there examples of livestock parentage testing in African systems, and if so for what purpose …. or how do you see this being beneficial (or not).

Karen Marshall - forum organiser posted a new activity comment

Fri, 19 Aug 2016 13:58:56 +0000

Several people have mentioned using genomic approaches to determine breed composition of animals (where it cannot be assigned based on phenotype, or due to lack of recorded pedigree). Are their other examples of people using this in their research, or who would find this beneficial in relation to future research? And what about industry application?

Karen Marshall - forum organiser posted a new activity comment

Fri, 19 Aug 2016 12:58:50 +0000

Thanks for the update Baitsi. Do you see any demand for tracing of livestock products (where genomics could play a role) versus tracing animals (where ear-tags seem more cost-effective)?

Karen Marshall - forum organiser posted a new activity comment

Fri, 19 Aug 2016 12:53:36 +0000

Thanks for raising the excellent point on capacity. I will raise capacity building needs as a specific point in the forum next week.

Karen Marshall - forum organiser posted a new activity comment

Fri, 19 Aug 2016 10:42:55 +0000

Thanks – do you know of any countries actively working on traceability?

Karen Marshall - forum organiser posted a new activity comment

Fri, 19 Aug 2016 10:20:41 +0000

Yes, and those of us involved in Research for Development projects, are being increasingly asked to provide evidence on project outcomes (or, as you put it, real world impact)

Karen Marshall - forum organiser posted a new activity comment

Fri, 19 Aug 2016 07:57:28 +0000

On the question “Which genomic or genetic applications have the most potential to positively impact on the rural poor in Africa – in the near future and the longer term” we have had a number of responses in relation to genomic selection, including the varied constraints associated with implementation of such a scheme. But what about other g…[Read more]

Karen Marshall - forum organiser posted a new activity comment

Fri, 19 Aug 2016 07:50:04 +0000

Thanks Chanda. Africa also has the problem of scarcity of impact-oriented genomic studies, and it would be great to see more focus on this.

Karen Marshall - forum organiser posted a new activity comment

Fri, 19 Aug 2016 07:47:57 +0000

Yes I agree that increased productivity requires a ‘intervention package’ approach – jointly addressing genetics, feeding, and health-care amongst others. Also, that farmers need access to markets, a voice in value chain governance etc.

I would like to hear more from experts in genomic selection on their thoughts in relation to size of…[Read more]

Karen Marshall - forum organiser posted a new activity comment

Fri, 19 Aug 2016 07:42:13 +0000

HI – yes I agree that there has been a lot of confusion related to the term superior – many people think of this only in the terms of e.g. milk yield or growth rate, rather than also adaptability to harsh environmental conditions, disease resistance etc. Breeding animals is suit the needs of the production system / environment they are in, is very key.

Karen Marshall - forum organiser posted a new activity comment

Fri, 19 Aug 2016 07:27:53 +0000

Yes and the record keeping could also inform farm management decisions – which I think is a more immediate incentive than monitoring genetic progress.

Karen Marshall - forum organiser posted a new activity comment

Fri, 19 Aug 2016 07:12:03 +0000

Hi – Thanks for your comment. Please expand on what you would like debated – as this is a great forum for that.

Karen Marshall - forum organiser posted a new activity comment

Fri, 19 Aug 2016 07:09:47 +0000

Thanks. We have a project here (ILRI) looking at scaling of fixed-time AI. Also, we are testing a recording and feedback tool for AI service providers that is mobile-phone based (and aimed at increasing AI success rate, as well as improving service provision)

Karen Marshall - forum organiser posted a new activity comment

Fri, 19 Aug 2016 07:05:44 +0000

Yes in developed country dairy systems the use of genomic selection has reduced the cost of progeny testing. But do we have this evidence for African systems that are not analogous? I think more cost:benefit modelling studies would be useful to this end – particularly on the issue of what scale of operation is required.

Karen Marshall - forum organiser posted a new activity comment

Fri, 19 Aug 2016 06:53:00 +0000

Great to hear of these activities are the link or genetic improvement to dissemination programs.

Karen Marshall - forum organiser posted a new activity comment

Thu, 18 Aug 2016 14:15:31 +0000

Thanks for sharing the link to this cornerstone document. Advocacy on investment in African Livestock is indeed critical.

Karen Marshall - forum organiser posted a new activity comment

Thu, 18 Aug 2016 13:00:22 +0000

Great to hear about experiences from India!

Yes what you propose would be immensely beneficial. Can you say more on what India is doing towards building the required reference populations (with both genotyped and phenotyped animals) needed for this?

Karen Marshall - forum organiser posted a new activity comment

Thu, 18 Aug 2016 09:58:26 +0000

Hi all – looking forward to more contributions on current genomics / genetics work being performed on livestock systems in Africa, and what you think are the key applications of genomics / genetics that will impact positively on Africa’s rural poor. A summary of discussions to date on the first point can be found here.

Karen Marshall - forum organiser posted a new activity comment

Thu, 18 Aug 2016 09:42:45 +0000

…. though at present there are few (if any) government institutions with sufficient animal numbers and recording capabilities to generate the needed data for reference populations

Karen Marshall - forum organiser posted a new activity comment

Thu, 18 Aug 2016 06:03:54 +0000

Many people have said this resource will be useful, but there has been limited discussion on how it will be used, who will benefit from its use etc.

It would be great to build on the perceptive comment of John Gibson –essentially that the resource design must lead to exciting and useful results generated from the early investment, to provide i…[Read more]

Karen Marshall - forum organiser posted a new activity comment

Thu, 18 Aug 2016 05:47:43 +0000

A customised SNP-chip is one potential outcome of the genomics reference resource – further discussions on the potential genomics reference resource are taking place under ‘discuss building’

Karen Marshall - forum organiser posted a new activity comment

Thu, 18 Aug 2016 05:45:00 +0000

Thanks Andrew. Note that in relation to paper-less data recording, it is possible to use new tools create for mobile devices – such as open data kit – to collect data along the lines you suggested. We have been testing this – along with provision of feedback to farmers based on their data.

Karen Marshall - forum organiser posted a new activity comment

Wed, 17 Aug 2016 15:36:22 +0000

Also, importantly, how farmers can improve their management practice based on record keeping. This, I feel, is likely to be a key incentive as it is immediate

Karen Marshall - forum organiser wrote a new post, Current use of genomics / genetics in African livestock systems

Wed, 17 Aug 2016 14:48:58 +0000

Below is a summary of contributions to date on the topic “What (real) examples of the application of genomic or genetic information to African livestock production systems (regardless of species) do we have […]

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Karen Marshall - forum organiser posted a new activity comment

Wed, 17 Aug 2016 14:41:31 +0000

Yes excellent points.

I completely agree that well-designed, robust and sustainable breed improvement programs are absolute requirements (without that, genomic selection cannot add value), and that many issues need to be addressed to achieve this – institutional arrangements, farmer incentives, delivery systems etc.etc.

Given your…[Read more]

Karen Marshall - forum organiser posted a new activity comment

Wed, 17 Aug 2016 13:38:16 +0000

What is the underlying objective of the project – is it a breed comparison?

Karen Marshall - forum organiser posted a new activity comment

Wed, 17 Aug 2016 13:27:15 +0000

To this end, I would like to see a study on farmer incentives for engaging in recording schemes – we are working on the assumption that feedback to farmers (based on information they have submitted) that assists them in management decisions (health-care, feeding, breeding etc.) will provide this incentive, but that is yet to be well tested

Karen Marshall - forum organiser posted a new activity comment

Wed, 17 Aug 2016 13:09:17 +0000

Excellent points, and great that genomic information will be used for breed composition also in Rwanda dairy