Genetics and Germplasm Working Group (GG)

GG is part of the American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS)

Minutes (2008 meeting)

  • Genetics and Germplasm Working Group Business Meeting
  • American Society for Horticultural Science Annual Conference
  • Orlando, Florida
  • July, 2008

Attendees

Beiquan Mou, Kathy Reitsma, Maria Jenderek, Gayle Volk, Linda Wessel-Beaver, Larry Robertson, Kim Hummer, Rebecca Nelson Brown, Nahla Bassil, Shawna Bushey, Gennaro Fazio, Richard Olsen, Dilip Panther, Harrison Hughes, Carole Bassett, Peter Bretting, Rebecca Grumet.

Officers

Beiquan Mou (Chair), Nahla Bassil (Chair-elect), Gayle Volk (Secretary).

Agenda

  • Minutes
  • GGWG-sponsored events at the 2008 meeting
    • No GGWG sponsored events were held at the 2008 meeting since it had been previously decided that GGWG would seek workshop sponsorship in alternating years.
  • GGWG-supported activities at future ASHS annual meetings
    • Deadline for Colloquia was extended to Dec. 1, 2008, with final proposals due 1/15/09. Three to five colloquia are funded ($3000 per colloquia; proceeds can be published (each speaker gets 3 free ASHS publication pages)). If a proposed colloquium is not funded, it can be submitted as a workshop (2/15/09 deadline). ASHS is encouraging more member speakers.
    • ASHS 2009 St Louis, MO ($93-97/night hotel cost)
      Nahla Bassil will check with the Biotech Working Group and Ralph Scorza to see if the proposed 2009 ASHS Colloquia “Application of Genomics to Breeding” was submitted.
    • Harrison Hughes, representing the Plant Propagation Working Group, sought support for a 2009 ASHS Colloquia “Propagation of Endangered Species Native to North America”. The topic was selected to take advantage of the St. Louis meeting location’s proximity to the Missouri Botanic Garden and the Center for Plant Conservation.
    • Potential workshop ideas:
      • Standardization of phenotyping
      • Potential presentation invitation to Seed Savers Exchange
    • ASHS 2010 Palm Desert, CA ($90/night hotel cost)
    • ASHS 2011 Hawaii ($150/night hotel cost).
  • Plant Breeding Coordinating Committee
    • A meeting was held in Des Moines that included both the public and private breeding sectors. White papers have been written by the six subcommittees: 1) Excellence in Science and Technology, 2) A Globally Collaborative Agricultural System, 3) Competitiveness, Sustainability and Quality of Life in Rural America, 4) Safe and Secure Food and Fiber System, 5) Healthy Well-nourished Population, and 6) Education and Training of Plant Breeders. A National Association of Plant Breeders will be formed and a CSREES PBCC SCC 080 Multistate project has been approved. Website: http://cuke.hort.ncsu.edu/gpb/pr/pbccmain.html. A meeting on Translational Genomics will be held Aug. 4-5, 2009 in Madison, Wisconsin.
  • Frank N. Meyer Medal for Plant Genetic Resources
    • Rich Hannan (nominated by Gayle Volk) was selected as the 2008 recipient of the Frank N. Meyer Award. Kim Hummer plans to nominate Mel Westwood for the Frank N. Meyer Award in 2009. 2009 deadline for nominations is 2/19/09.
  • Other Business
    • Election of new officers: Richard Olsen was selected as the new secretary. Nahla Bassil took on the chair position and Gayle Volk has the chair-elect position.
    • Kim Hummer announced that Oregon State University is recruiting for a graduate student to work on the tissue culture of hazelnuts.
    • Nahla Bassil announced the Molecular Markers in Horticulture ISHS Symposium to be held July 29-August 1, 2009 in Corvallis Oregon. The website is http://oregonstate.edu/conferences/molecularmarkers2009/
    • Prepared by Gayle Volk.