Please bring a friend and join us for the next Olympia Science Café.
When: 7:00 PM, Tuesday, 10 May 2016
Where: Orca Books (509 East 4th Avenue, Olympia, Phone 360.352.0123)
Our April Topic Recent advances in high throughput sequencing of DNA and RNA and a look at gene expression analyses in plants exposed to abiotic stress.
Next-generation DNA and RNA sequencing have made it possible not only to look at individual genomes, but also to rapidly compare genetic sequences among multiple genomes. These approaches can be used, for example, to determine differences in gene transcripts from individual samples, between populations or different organisms, and conduct experimental analyses of normal and experimental conditions. Next-generation sequencing technologies have made it possible to generate high-resolution genomic data much more efficiently, at a lower cost and ease for researchers in many fields. Scientists have turned to next-generation sequencing to identify particular features of the genome that contribute to specific phenotypes. Sam Fox’s work involves the use of these sequencing technologies to characterize the gene expression in plants exposed to abiotic stress (extreme temperatures, salinity stress, etc…). He will introduce the audience to new techniques for these types of analyses and discuss how he applies this to answer questions regarding genome-wide responses of plants to their environment.
About the Speaker:
Sam Fox graduated from Oregon State University with Ph.D. in Molecular and Cellular Biology. He has published numerous papers in the field of genomics. While in graduate school, he played a major role establishing protocols for the preparation and sequencing of RNA material. He has been involved in many genome studies including several genome sequencing projects and many projects elucidating gene expression in plants and also animals.
Next Month: Invasive Green Crabs