• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Advances in Genetic Analysis Technology Aid Wild Salmon Conservation and Species Management; International Researchers Convene in Alaska to Discuss How SNP Genotyping Can Further Wildlife Conservation Efforts

Posted on: Thursday, 21 September 2006, 09:02 CDT

Today in Anchorage, Alaska, international researchers will convene to discuss the use of the latest advances in genetic analysis technology to address the conservation and management of wild salmon in the Pacific Ocean. The conference is the second annual meeting of a multi-national group working to apply the latest advances in DNA analysis to track salmon migration patterns and species intermixing to identify risk factors that may affect the health of these commercially and environmentally important fish species.

The two-day meeting is sponsored by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG), the Genetics Section of the American Fisheries Society and Applied Biosystems Group (NYSE:ABI), an Applera Corporation business.

Global climate changes have elevated concerns about the sustainability of some salmon populations, especially those at the extremes of the species' geographical range. The conference speakers will detail their progress in addressing these concerns using genetic variations called single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to, for example, develop internationally shared datasets about salmon migration pathways and harvest patterns. These data have both environmental and commercial implications, as they can be applied to more responsibly managing commercial salmon fishing, enforcing international treaties and understanding the effects of environmental stresses that may be affecting the health of various salmon populations.

Researchers from Japan will present SNP data documenting the distribution of Asian and North American salmon populations caught in the northern Pacific Ocean, and researchers from Europe will share similar progress using SNP data obtained from populations of Atlantic salmon. Other scientists will present their experiences working with lizards, turtles, wolves, whales and other animals in order to share relevant knowledge gained in SNP genotyping studies that may be applicable to the salmon conservation efforts.

"SNPs are emerging as important tools in wildlife conservation research because they offer advantages over other genetic markers, such as microsatellites," said guest speaker Philip Morin, Ph.D., a molecular geneticist at Southwest Fisheries Science Center in La Jolla, California. "SNPs are easier to standardize across collaborating laboratories and provide researchers a straight-forward way to understand population structure and species evolution, even when little genomic information is known about the species."

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is undertaking a major salmon genotyping effort using Applied Biosystems genetic analysis and genotyping products, including its TaqMan(R) Genotyping Assays, to study Pacific salmon populations, and is leading an international effort to develop a standardized database for use among Pacific coastal nations, including the United States, Russia, Japan, and Korea.

"High throughput SNP genotyping is the latest in a series of DNA analysis tools that is enhancing our ability to responsibly and effectively manage the harvest of specific fish populations," added Jim Seeb, Ph.D., co-director of the Gene Conservation Laboratory at ADFG. "We have achieved unprecedented speed, accuracy, and cost savings in an array of SNP studies that improve both harvest management and our ability to track the origins of fish caught in treaty fisheries."

As an example of their recent progress, researchers from the ADFG will discuss how they used SNP data this year to estimate stock compositions in Bristol Bay, home of the largest sockeye salmon Oncorhynchus nerka fishery in the world. Based on their correct predictions that stock strengths would be higher in western Bristol Bay and weaker in some of the southeastern regions, the managers were able to shift fishing efforts to the west.

During the last two years, more than $3 million in grants has been awarded by government agencies to use SNPs to study Pacific salmon. This includes $470,000 awarded by the Pacific Salmon Commission to a seven-laboratory consortium working on a common database for Chinook salmon, which inhabit waters from California to Alaska.

"High-throughput genotyping technologies are enabling a range of applications across diverse and important sectors of the life science industry," said Mark Stevenson, president of the Applied Biosystems molecular and cell biology division. "We believe the advances this consortium has made in applying SNP genotyping to salmon conservation can serve as a model for similar wildlife research efforts."

More information about the conference is available at: http://www.cf.adfg.state.ak.us/geninfo/research/genetics/workshop/snp workshop06.php. (Due to its length, this URL may need to be copied/pasted into your Internet browser's address field. Remove the extra space if one exists.)

About Applera Corporation and Applied Biosystems

Applera Corporation consists of two operating groups. The Applied Biosystems Group serves the life science industry and research community by developing and marketing instrument-based systems, consumables, software, and services. Customers use these tools to analyze nucleic acids (DNA and RNA), small molecules, and proteins to make scientific discoveries and develop new pharmaceuticals. Applied Biosystems' products also serve the needs of some markets outside of life science research, which we refer to as "applied markets," such as the fields of: human identity testing (forensic and paternity testing); biosecurity, which refers to products needed in response to the threat of biological terrorism and other malicious, accidental, and natural biological dangers; and quality and safety testing, for example in food and the environment. Applied Biosystems is headquartered in Foster City, CA, and reported sales of over $1.9 billion during fiscal 2006. The Celera Genomics Group is primarily a molecular diagnostics business that is using proprietary genomics and proteomics discovery platforms to identify and validate novel diagnostic markers, and is developing diagnostic products based on these markers. Celera Genomics maintains a strategic alliance with Abbott Laboratories for the development and commercialization of molecular, or nucleic acid-based, diagnostic products, and it is also developing new diagnostic products outside of this alliance. Through its genomics and proteomics research efforts, Celera Genomics is also discovering and validating therapeutic targets, and it is seeking to develop therapeutic products based on these discovered targets through strategic partnerships. Information about Applera Corporation, including reports and other information filed by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission, is available at http://www.applera.com, or by telephoning 800.762.6923. Information about Applied Biosystems is available at http://www.appliedbiosystems.com/.

Applied Biosystems Forward Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking. These may be identified by the use of forward-looking words or phrases such as "should, "planned," and "expect," among others. These forward-looking statements are based on Applera Corporation's current expectations. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe harbor" for such forward-looking statements. In order to comply with the terms of the safe harbor, Applera Corporation notes that a variety of factors could cause actual results and experience to differ materially from the anticipated results or other expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements. These factors include but are not limited to: (1) rapidly changing technology and dependence on the development and customer acceptance of new products; (2) sales dependent on customers' capital spending policies and government-sponsored research; and (3) other factors that might be described from time to time in Applera Corporation's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All information in this press release is as of the date of the release, and Applera does not undertake any duty to update this information, including any forward-looking statements, unless required by law.

Copyright(C) 2006. Applera Corporation. All rights reserved. Applera, Applied Biosystems and Celera are registered trademarks, and Celera Genomics is a trademark of Applera Corporation or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and/or certain other countries. TaqMan is a registered trademark of Roche Molecular Systems, Inc.

Source: Business Wire

More News in this Category