CONGEN-2010: A Semester in a Fortnight

The AGA-sponsored 2010 workshop on ‘‘Recent Advances in Conservation Genetics’’ was held 7–20 February, 2010, at the impressive White Oak Conservation Center in Yulee, Florida. This was the 9th edition of the workshop, which has expanded beyond its first home at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia, to include versions in Florida, Brazil, Hawaii, and the Republic of Panama. The goal of these workshops is to teach the participants how to develop and interpret a variety of genetic data for application to pressing problems in biodiversity conservation. The workshop was organized by Dr Stephen O’Brien and members of his Laboratory of Genomic Diversity at the National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland, and several of the lab’s scientists gave extended faculty lectures and assistance during the 2-week workshop. Students at the workshop represented 12 countries, almost every continent, and diverse experience/background levels. They included graduate students, postdocs, biology professors and veterinarians, as well as other scientists interested in learning more about conservation genetics. The schedule was jam-packed with sessions starting at 8:30 AM every day and continuing through evening lectures and late-night computer sessions. Outside the classroom, practical ‘‘laboratory’’ sessions included tissue sampling, blood work, artificial insemination, sperm and egg evaluation and banking, and a wonderful conservation center tour. A half-day field trip to the Okefenokee swamp with the very knowledgeable owner and guides from Okefenokee Adventures provided a mid-workshop break on the middle Sunday. Upon arrival, each attendee was presented with a new laptop computer (donated by Apple for use during the workshop) preloaded with the software for the course and communication tools—servers, calendars, and chat services. This made for very efficient time use, as it wasn’t necessary to delay teaching while software was configured for multiple platforms and operating systems. Theoretical and practical classroom sessions occupied the morning and afternoon time slots, and evenings were reserved for very educational invited lectures that put the daily lessons into a real-world context (Table 1). Time was also allotted for workshop participants to analyze their own data with faculty help. These tutorials always prove popular, as the ‘‘students’’ get one-on-one help from the experts—not only on ‘‘How’’ to organize and analyze their data but why to do it that way, what other possibilities might be evaluated, and how to interpret the differences. Topics covered were both broad and deep. Techniques and data types ranged from SNPs and microsatellites, through DNA bar coding, sequencing, and genomics. Databases, metadata, and sample management were also presented through the ‘‘conservation lens.’’ Specific content included: data mining, databases, bioinformatics, sequence alignment, trait mapping and strategies, molecular dating methodologies, Bayesian inference, ancient DNA, genetic markers, population genetics, microsatellites, DNA sequence data, DNA bar coding, basic and advanced phylogenetics, comparative genomics, microarray and second/third generation sequencing and pyrosequencing technologies, haplotype inference, detecting and measuring selection, host specificity and disease adaptation, parentage analysis, disease pathology and conservation, genetics of domestication, landscape ecology, and an open session on career, financial, and research planning. What the lectures and lecturers really taught, beyond the subject matter presented, was how to do science ‘‘right.’’ The lecturers told their stories thoroughly, including dead-ends pursued, noninformative data and analyses, and tangents of discovery. The value and power of outreach and education were also an integral part of many presentations. Attendee feedback was universally positive, with consistent comments on the practical utility of what was presented. Though I had attended both the Molecular Evolution Workshop and the Advances in Genomics and Bioinformatics Workshop in the past (at MBL/Woods Hole and a recent molecular evolution refresher at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History), I was still lacking much experience with SNPs, microsatellites, and other populationlevel genetic data analyses. This course extended the data analyses to the population level as none of the other courses had, providing exposure to the methods of most relevance to biodiversity. I would strongly recommend this workshop to scientists of all levels desiring a high-quality immersive introduction to the elements of conservation genetics. The 2011 ConGen workshop will be held September 3–11 in Pantanel, Brazil.