Source: UNIV OF WISCONSIN submitted to
ANIMAL EPIGENETICS AND REPRODUCTION WORKSHOP: PLANT AND ANIMAL GENOME XXI CONFERENCE
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
TERMINATED
Funding Source
NRI COMPETITIVE GRANT
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
0231480
Grant No.
2013-35205-20367
Project No.
WIS01686
Proposal No.
2012-02182
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Program Code
A5102
Project Start Date
Jan 1, 2013
Project End Date
Dec 31, 2014
Grant Year
2013
Project Director
KHATIB, H.
Recipient Organization
UNIV OF WISCONSIN
21 N PARK ST STE 6401
MADISON,WI 53715-1218
Performing Department
Animal Sciences
Non Technical Summary
Epigenetics is the study of heritable traits and gene expression that do not involve changes in DNA sequence. However, most epigenetic studies have been performed in humans and mouse and livestock species have received much less attention. Given the important role of epigenetic changes in important traits in livestock, there is a need to better understand the epigenetic mechanisms affecting economically important traits and diseases so we can improve health and production of animals. The Animal Epigenetics workshop is unique opportunity to share and exchange epigenetics knowledge between scientists.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
80%
Applied
20%
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
3043910108050%
3013910108050%
Knowledge Area
301 - Reproductive Performance of Animals; 304 - Animal Genome;

Subject Of Investigation
3910 - Cross-commodity research--multiple animal species;

Field Of Science
1080 - Genetics;
Goals / Objectives
The objective of the project is to bring together leading researchers in the different fields of epigenetics to share their knowledge and discuss future directions of this rising field. The workshop will be held during the Plant and Animal Genome meeting in San Diego, CA, January 12-16, 2013. Expected outputs: the workshop of Animal Epigenetics will provide a unique opportunity of exchange of ideas between participants on how to utilize epigenetics knowledge to improve animal production and reproduction in the US. There will be 6 invited speakers who will share their research and discuss it in a separate meeting after the conference. Dissemination: Importantly, invited speakers will submit a research paper to be published in a special issue of Animal Genetics.
Project Methods
Epigenetics is a rising field of scinece because epigenetic alterations can affect human health, animal health, and economically important traits in animals. New knowledge about these topics will be discussed during the workshop through the invited presentations. The publication of the special issue on epigenetics will target a large audinece of researchers who are interested in epigenetics.

Progress 01/01/13 to 12/31/14

Outputs
Target Audience: The primary target audience of this project is scientists involved in the area of animal genetics and epigenetics research including faculty, research staff, and students. The general scientific community is another audience, as one of the goals of the research project was to publish a special issue of epigenetics in the Animal Genetics journal.There were more than 130 participants from different countries and research disciplines who attended the Animal Epigenetics Workshop, held during the Plant and Animal Genome meeting in San Diego, CA on January 12-16, 2013. Thus, the workshop provided a unique opportunity of networking among participants. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? The workshop provided unique opportunities for the attendees, including graduate students and post-docs, where discussions of the different aspects of animal epigenetics and research collaborations took place. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? As mentioned before, a special issue of epigenetics was published in the Animal Genetics journal in August, 2014. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The workshop was held as planned at the Plant and Animal Genome meeting in San Diego, CA in January, 2013. Three international and three national invited speakers presented and discussed their research. In addition, several graduate students and postdoctoral fellows were supported by this project. Immediately following the workshop, there was a fruitful discussion about epigenetics and the future of the field. For dissemination of the workshop information, some speakers and others submitted research papers, which were published in a special issue in the Animal Genetics journal. Thus, all goals have been accomplished as stated in the project.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Doherty, R., Farrelly, C. O. and Meade, K. G. 2014. Comparative epigenetics: relevance to the regulation of production and health traits in cattle. Animal Genetics, 45: 314.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Couldrey, C. and Cave, V. 2014. Assessing DNA methylation levels in animals: choosing the right tool for the job. Animal Genetics, 45: 1524.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Magee, D. A., Spillane, C., Berkowicz, E. W., Sikora, K. M. and MacHugh, D. E.2014.Imprinted loci in domestic livestock species as epigenomic targets for artificial selection of complex traits. Animal Genetics, 45: 2539.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Shin, J. H., Xu, L., Li, R. W., Gao, Y., Bickhart, D., Liu, G. E., Baldwin, R. and Li, C.-J. 2014. A high-resolution whole-genome map of the distinctive epigenomic landscape induced by butyrate in bovine cells. Animal Genetics, 45: 4050.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Bidwell, C. A., Waddell, J. N., Taxis, T. M., Yu, H., Tellam, R. L., Neary, M. K. and Cockett, N. E. 2014. New insights into polar overdominance in callipyge sheep. Animal Genetics, 45: 5161.


Progress 01/01/13 to 12/31/13

Outputs
Target Audience: The targeted audience is attendees of the Animal Epigenetics Workshop held at the Plant and Animal Genome meeting in San Diego, CA in January 2013. International and national speakers were invited to discuss their epigenetics research with the attendees and the graduate students and post doctorate fellows who received financial support to attend the meeting. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? The meeting was a great opportunity for a fruitful discussion between the invited speakers and graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. The participants discussed the future of epigenetoics research and importance to the livestock production and reproduction. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Currently, we are working on the dissemination of the information and results of the meeting. Our goal for the next reported period is to publish a special issue of Epigenetics in the journal of Animal Genetics. Manuscripts have already been submitted and they are currently under review.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The workshop was held at the Plant and Animal Genome meeting in San Diego, CA, January 12-16, 2013 as planned. All invited speakers attended the meeting and presented their research.

Publications