Category Archives: Genome

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Jun 3, 2013) - The Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Science and Technology), announced the launch of a new Genome Canada program designed to move genomics-based solutions from laboratories to the marketplace. The Genomic Applications Partnership Program (GAPP) is also intended to stimulate investment from private and public partners to fund projects that address real world challenges and opportunities in the field of genomics.

"Our Government recognizes that genomics science is at the core of the economic activity of life sciences research," said Minister Goodyear. "More than ever before, the field of genomics is equipping Canadian businesses with cutting-edge science and technologies that are not only helping to address the challenges we face but are also driving economic growth and creating high quality jobs."

The GAPP is Genome Canada's newest flagship partnership program that will increase collaboration between genomics scientists and "users" of genomics research (industry, government, non-profit or other organizations). The Harper Government, through Genome Canada, is committing $30 million to the program, and through regional Genome Centres, will leverage additional funding from partners and industry, rendering this a $90 million investment in made-in-Canada genomics research and development.

"The program was designed based on extensive consultation both with the genomics research community and the community of users of genomics research to ensure it was meeting clearly defined needs," said Dr. Pierre Meulien, President and CEO of Genome Canada. "We expect the GAPP to result in early-stage products, tools and processes that will bring genomics research to application and market, thereby stimulating Canadian innovation."

To further bolster Canada's genomics research enterprise, Minister Goodyear also announced $29 million in renewed funding for five world-class genomics research facilities located across Canada. This funding renewal comes after a rigorous review of the Centres' operations by an International Review Committee. The Science and Technology Innovation Centres provide access to genomic, proteomic, metabolomic and bioinformatics technologies not only for Genome Canada-funded projects, but also for the broader research community. In addition, the Centres assist scientists by advising on research study design and the appropriate technologies required to carry out their research proposals.

To help achieve important future genomics research breakthroughs, Economic Action Plan 2012 provided $60 million for Genome Canada to launch its new GAPP program, and to sustain the Science and Technology Centres until 2014-15. Of this total, $26 million is attributed to the GAPP, $29 million is provided to renew the operations of Genome Canada's five Science and Technology Innovation Centres and $5 million to support Canadian leadership on two international consortia, the Structural Genomics Consortium and International Barcode of Life Consortium. An additional $4 million from Genome Canada's ongoing budget will be allocated to the GAPP.

Since 2006, the Harper Government has provided more than $9 billion in new funding for initiatives to support science, technology and the growth of innovative firms. These investments have helped to foster a world-class research and innovation system. Economic Action Plan 2013 proposes to build on this strong foundation, helping to position Canada for sustainable, long-term prosperity and a higher quality of life for Canadians. Among other things, Economic Action Plan 2013 provides $165 million to further support Genome Canada's multi-year strategic plan.

Further details related to this announcement are available on Genome Canada's website at http://www.genomecanada.ca.

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Harper Government and Genome Canada Launch New Program to Accelerate Genomics Discovery to Market

Public release date: 3-Jun-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Andrea Matyas 613-790-0106 Genome Canada

This news release is available in French.

Ottawa, June 3, 2013The Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Science and Technology), announced the launch of a new Genome Canada program designed to move genomics-based solutions from laboratories to the marketplace. The Genomic Applications Partnership Program (GAPP) is also intended to stimulate investment from private and public partners to fund projects that address real world challenges and opportunities in the field of genomics.

"Our Government recognizes that genomics science is at the core of the economic activity of life sciences research," said Minister Goodyear. "More than ever before, the field of genomics is equipping Canadian businesses with cutting-edge science and technologies that are not only helping to address the challenges we face but are also driving economic growth and creating high quality jobs."

The GAPP is Genome Canada's newest flagship partnership program that will increase collaboration between genomics scientists and "users" of genomics research (industry, government, non-profit or other organizations). The Harper Government, through Genome Canada, is committing $30 million to the program, and through regional Genome Centres, will leverage additional funding from partners and industry, rendering this a $90 million investment in made-in-Canada genomics research and development.

"The program was designed based on extensive consultation both with the genomics research community and the community of users of genomics research to ensure it was meeting clearly defined needs," said Dr. Pierre Meulien, President and CEO of Genome Canada. "We expect the GAPP to result in early-stage products, tools and processes that will bring genomics research to application and market, thereby stimulating Canadian innovation."

To further bolster Canada's genomics research enterprise, Minister Goodyear also announced $29 million in renewed funding for five world-class genomics research facilities located across Canada. This funding renewal comes after a rigorous review of the Centres' operations by an International Review Committee. The Science and Technology Innovation Centres provide access to genomic, proteomic, metabolomic and bioinformatics technologies not only for Genome Canada-funded projects, but also for the broader research community. In addition, the Centres assist scientists by advising on research study design and the appropriate technologies required to carry out their research proposals.

To help achieve important future genomics research breakthroughs, Economic Action Plan 2012 provided $60 million for Genome Canada to launch its new GAPP program, and to sustain the Science and Technology Centres until 2014-2015. Of this total, $26 million is attributed to the GAPP, $29 million is provided to renew the operations of Genome Canada's five Science and Technology Innovation Centres and $5 million to support Canadian leadership on two international consortia, the Structural Genomics Consortium and International Barcode of Life Consortium. An additional $4 million from Genome Canada's ongoing budget will be allocated to the GAPP.

Since 2006, the Harper Government has provided more than $9 billion in new funding for initiatives to support science, technology and the growth of innovative firms. These investments have helped to foster a world-class research and innovation system. Economic Action Plan 2013 proposes to build on this strong foundation, helping to position Canada for sustainable, long-term prosperity and a higher quality of life for Canadians. Among other things, Economic Action Plan 2013 provides $165 million to further support Genome Canada's multi-year strategic plan.

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Harper Government and Genome Canada launch new program

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Jun 3, 2013) - Genome British Columbia supported research and technology platforms will receive renewed funding from the federal government through Genome Canada's 2012 Science & Technology Innovation Centre Operations Support Competition. The platforms that will receive funding are:

These world renowned technology platforms provide local, national and international researchers access to cutting edge high-throughput genomics and proteomics technologies, such as DNA sequencing, protein identification and quantitation, as well as data analysis and bioinformatics. The platforms also work with scientists in the planning and execution of research plans and help determine which technology fits best with their project.

"Re-funding for these three platforms is key to continuing the genomics enterprise across Canada," says Dr. Alan Winter, President and CEO of Genome BC. "Genomics research is continuing to produce huge amounts of information for analysis and without the support of technology platforms it would be impossible to maximize the research productivity into tangible outcomes."

With this funding the BC Cancer Agency's GSC will continue to enable ground-breaking large-scale genomics research in BC; sustain and expand IT capacity and capabilities to meet the growing requirements of the field; and develop methods and technologies to address specific challenges of the field, such as handling and analysis of biopsy materials for research.

"The GSC is proud to continue its role as a centre for innovation, supporting large scale genomics and bioinformatics work funded by Genome Canada and Genome BC since 2001," says Dr. Marco Marra, director of the BC Cancer Agency's GSC. "This funding helps sustain our position as one of the largest genome research centres in the world and allows us to support large-scale initiatives."

The UVic-Genome BC Proteomics Centre, led by Dr. Christoph Borchers, will continue to offer expertise in quantitative proteomics, structural proteomics, "top-down" and "bottom-up" proteomics for protein characterization, metabolomics and technology development. The addition of bioinformatics as a technology development area will help to ensure the Proteomics Centre remains cutting-edge and will allow the Centre to feed new bioinformatics resources back to the research community. Funding for new equipment will also ensure that they will be able to meet the demand for services and deliver quick turnaround times for client projects.

"Re-funding of the UVic-Genome BC Proteomics Centre is certainly an acknowledgement of the achievements of the Centre over the past two years and our contribution to, and engagement in, the research community," says Dr. Borchers. "As a service provider we can now maintain the excellent quality of our research in three key technology development areas -structural proteomics, quantitative proteomics and protein characterization - for the betterment of the entire research community."

The Metabolomics Innovation Centre (TMIC) is operated jointly by the University of Alberta and the University of Victoria. This emerging field will now be able to carry-on work in the advancing and important field of metabolomics which will enable understanding of many important biological processes.

"Metabolomics is proving to be a foundational tool in molecular biology," says Dr. Borchers, co-leader of TMIC. "Renewed funding means that we can meet the growing need within Canada, and around the world, to perform large numbers of rapid, accurate and robust metabolomic assays."

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Genome BC: BC Science & Technology Platforms Attract $14.7 Million in Federal Funding

What did the human genome project tell us about humanity?
Joe Negen.

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Canadas premier agency for funding research into genomics which deals with the analysis and functioning of entire DNA sequences in humans and other organisms is expected to announce a $30-million program Monday that dovetails with the federal governments emphasis on science that delivers concrete benefits.

Genome Canada is opening its purse strings to boost industry investment in science and speed the flow of ideas from university labs to practical applications. Research groups will be able to access up to $6-million per project, provided they have an outside partner or user of the resulting research, which can include companies, foundations or other branches of government.

According to the guidelines of the new program, collaborators will be required to contribute $2 to every $1 provided by Genome Canada. In an interview with The Globe and Mail, Pierre Meulien, Genome Canadas president and CEO, said the kind of science the program will fund will be driven very much by a real need from the user, and the user will have to put skin in the game.

The Harper government has called for more targeted or applied science to address a long-standing gap in Canadas private-sector investment in research and development. But other initiatives in this direction, including a recent announcement that the National Research Council will be restructured to better support Canadian industry, have been criticized by those who say the flow of federal research dollars has shifted too far from basic science.

Dr. Meulien said a balanced approach to science funding is necessary for Canada's long-term success, but he added that the fruits of basic research can be more effectively applied for socioeconomic gain. This is our attempt to pull some of the amazing knowledge and tool development weve been investing in for the last decade or more and get it out of academia and into use.

In addition to the new partnership program, Genome Canada will announce $29-million in support for five genomics facilities across the country that it has been funding for some time.

Among them is the British Columbia Cancer Centre, which sequenced the SARS virus genome in 2003, and the Centre for Applied Genomics at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, which in 2010 published genetic variants associated with autism. Such work demonstrates how Canada has leap-frogged ahead in its international standing in the field since Genome Canada was established, said Steven Scherer, director of the Toronto centre.

Established in 2000, Genome Canada is the federal government's primary conduit for funding research in genomics. It has distributed more than $900-million in grants during its first decade of operation on a dollar-for-dollar matching basis with other funding sources. In the aftermath of the U.S.-led Human Genome Project, this has significantly boosted Canada's presence in genomics, allowing it to do some catching up in a fast-moving and crucial area of science.

Dr. Meulien said the new partnership program would help develop Canadas genomics expertise in areas beyond the health sector, including natural-resource-based industries such as forestry, energy and mining. I believe that marriage can give rise to amazing innovation and productivity gains for Canada, he said.

Soheil Asgarpour, president of Petroleum Technology Alliance Canada, which promotes fossil-fuel-related research and development, said that genomics was one of the areas where his industry was looking to develop breakthrough technologies.

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Genome Canada to stress practical results

Public release date: 2-Jun-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Ruth Francis ruth.francis@biomedcentral.com 44-203-192-2737 BioMed Central

The freshly sequenced genome of the most commonly cultivated cacao plant in the world is revealed in the open access journal Genome Biology this week. Researchers have utilised high quality DNA sequences to demonstrate the usefulness and quality of the sequence to identify genetic markers that can lead to higher yielding cocoa plants that still produce better tasting cocoa.

There are many varieties of the cacao tree (Theobroma cacao L.), but the green podded Costa Rican Matina or Amelonado variety is the most popular because of its high yield and pleasant flavor. In Ecuador, a red podded high yielding variety, CCN 51, is blended with a green podded, better tasting but lower yielding variety. But the adulteration reduces the overall quality of the chocolate, so cacao growers are keen to improve the quality of cacao beans exported from Ecuador.

Juan C Motamayor from Mars Incorporated, and colleagues sequenced the genome of the Matina cacao variety, then used genetic analyses and comparisons with other varieties, to highlight a gene involved in pod colour variation. Zooming further in on the gene sequence, they then identified a single DNA letter change that affected levels of the gene's expression, and so the colour of the pod.

Cacao plant breeders trying to produce a delicious high-yield strain through cross breeding have met with limited success. So the genetic marker could, in theory, be used to screen young seedlings, and highlight desirable plants long before they reach maturity. This would avoid the expense and labour of growing up potential duds, ultimately improving the quality of cacao plants and the chocolate made from them.

Although the genome sequence of the Criollo cacao variety was reported two years ago, it's genetically quite distinct and so a poor representative of the cacao types cultivated worldwide.

Since the publication of the genome sequence, researchers have been working to identify genetic markers that can produce more productive cocoa plants for farmers while still providing consumers with high quality and superior taste. The genome sequence research is a part of an overall effort to use traditional breeding techniques to develop planting materials that farmers can use to be more productive.

Cacao trees are grown throughout the humid tropics in more than 50 countries, and cacao beans, harvested from the plants' pods, are used to produce chocolate as well as in the confectionary and cosmetic industries. Cacao production is essential to the livelihoods of around 45 million people worldwide, and to the happiness and well-being of millions and millions more.

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Genome hints at markers for higher-producing, better-tasting chocolate

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