The symposium will cover DNA-based markers and their uses in cultivar identification, germplasm management, characterization of genetic diversity, population structure of wild relatives, phylogenetic analyses, and marker assisted selection.
The symposium will also present applications of next-generation sequencing and updates on statistical tools and software used to analyze molecular data. Future prospects of this technology and status of transfer of information from model organisms to cultivated horticultural crops will also be discussed.
Methods that use DNA-based molecular markers continue to evolve at breathtaking speed. The ultimate goal of molecular markers is to speed the release of varieties that have desirable traits and to meet the increasing demands for novel, nutritious, disease-resistant and high-yielding crops. Promising technological advances in DNA sequencing and genomics in plants have created a need for evaluating the current status of these molecular markers and their future progress.
To this end, the International Society for Horticultural Sciences is collaborating with Oregon State University (OSU) scientists and researchers from the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to host the International Symposium on Molecular Markers in Horticulture, July 29 through August 1, 2009, at the Alumni Center located on the OSU campus in Corvallis, Oregon.
