Several CALS faculty and graduate students presented research at the annual Plant and Animal Genome Conference (PAG 30), held January 13-18 in San Diego, CA.
In his talk, But Does it Taste Good? A DIVSEEK thematic hub on crop germplasm uses, Eric Bishop von Wettberg, associate professor in the Dept. of Plant and Soil Science,presented on efforts to better capture how specific crop varieties are used, particularly by Indigenous groups in genebank databases. He noted that breeders often overlook specific flavors or culinary properties that traditional crop varieties might have.
Animal and Veterinary Sciences Associate Professor Stephanie McKay, along with PhD candidates Emory Pacht and Suraj Bhattarai, presented research from their lab. Their talks included:
- McKay: “RNA Methylation as a Mechanistic Link between Genotype and Phenotype”
- Pacht: “The Spectrum and Prevalence of Hydroxymethylation in Cattle Limbic System Tissues”
- Bhattarai: “Comparative Epigenomics Reveals the Impact of Domestication on Methylation Profiles Between Cattle and Bison”
Both Pacht and Bhattarai were also recipients of the Neal A Jorgensen Genome Travel Award for Cattle. Also from the Dept of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Associate Professor John Barlow presented research from his lab on antimicrobial resistance genes in cattle.
Plant and Soil Sciences Professor Yolanda Chen’s lab was also represented at the conference, with Chen presenting work led by PhD student Kristian Brevik on the role of epigenetics in insecticide resistance. Erika Bueno, entomology doctoral student in the Chen lab, also presented her research on the interactive effects of multiple environmental stressors on the Colorado potato beetle.
