This training session is being organised as part of the GenTree Final Conference "Genetics to the rescue - Managing forests sustainably in a changing world"
Session leaders: Dr. Santiago C. González-Martínez (INRA Bordeaux, France), Prof. Tanja Pyhäjärvi (University of Oulu, Finland), Dr. Leopoldo Sanchez Rodriguez (INRA Orléans, France), Dr. Ivan Scotti (INRA Avignon, France)
Assessing how genetic diversity at potentially adaptive loci is structured in natural forest tree populations, is a complex matter. Demographic processes and natural selection interact to produce genomic signatures that need to be disentangled. The course will show how genomic data sets can be analyzed to yield information on how environmental factors shape local adaptation and how genomic variation affect phenotypic diversity and how this can be used in breeding programs. Evolutionary forces shape genetic variation and leave genomic imprints. The resulting genetic characteristics can be associated with phenotypic traits or even predict them. Plant breeders and conservation biologists often rely on information from such genetic associations.
Understanding the methods (and the statistics behind the methods) used for association studies and phenotypic predictions is crucial for people who work in these fields. Trainees attending the course will be provided with theoretical knowledge and practical examples to improve their skills in population and quantitative genetics as well as in bioinformatics. Organized and taught by four experienced European scientists, the training session has a maximum capacity of 70 people. Masters and PhD students, early stage career researchers as well as senior scientists are welcome.
More information and registration