Free FP7-funded Aquaculture Training Course on Chromosome Set Manipulation and Gamete Collection

Applications are now being accepted for the third training course organised by the FP7-funded AQUAEXCEL (Aquaculture Infrastructures for Excellence in European Fish Research) project. The course, The Application of Chromosome Set Manipulations and the Importance of Gamete Collection and Management in Aquaculture, will be hosted by the Institute of Aquaculture (IoA) at University of Stirling, Scotland, on 18-22 November 2013. Additional inputs will be provided by scientists based at l’Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), France, and the Institute of Marine Research (IMR), Norway. Course attendance is free, thanks to EC Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) funding.

AQUAEXCEL aims to integrate key aquaculture research infrastructures across Europe in order to promote their coordinated use and development. AQUAEXCEL is organising four pioneering new technical training courses in total, with each course focusing on different aspects of aquaculture experimentation. These courses are unique in putting emerging aquaculture infrastructure centres of excellence at the forefront. They also present a valuable opportunity for researchers and technicians in this field to further their experience.

Chromosome Set Manipulation (CSM) technology is used in fish and shellfish aquaculture and has important applications in the development of unique genotypes for basic research (haploid, meiotic and mitotic gynogenetic and androgenetic individuals) and direct commercial applications to the aquaculture industry (sterile triploids and investigation and manipulation of sex-determination systems e.g. YY males). The Application of Chromosome Set Manipulations and the Importance of Gamete Collection and Management in Aquaculture course will give practical training in the collection, handling and storage of gametes for these purposes, from a range of species, but with a focus on salmonids and tilapias as examples.

The course is aimed at participants who want to gain experience in gamete handling and management and the application of CSM techniques in the course of their work or research.

Course attendance is free, thanks to EC FP7 funding. Participants are expected to pay for their own travel, subsistence and accommodation. Participants are requested to submit their CV and a brief letter outlining their motivation for wanting to attend the course. Please find attached to this email the course information leaflet and registration form. For more information and online registration, please visit www.aquaexcel.eu/training_courses.

The first AQUAEXCEL course, which focused on Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS) Technology and was provided by Wageningen University (WU), the Netherlands, with expertise from the Norwegian Institute of Food, Fishery and Aquaculture (Nofima), l’Institut Francais de Recherche Pour l’Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER) and the Institute for Marine Resources and Ecosystem Studies (IMARES), was very successful and oversubscribed. The second AQUAEXCEL training course: Contribution of Genomic Approaches to the Development of Sustainable Aquaculture for Temperate and Mediterranean Fish, will be hosted by the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA) in Rennes, France, on 16-18 October 2013. The final course, Efficient Utilisation of New Monitoring and Control Systems in Fish Experiments, will be provided by The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and SINTEF Sealab, on 19-22 May 2014. Registration for this course will open in January 2014.