Philippine Genome Center Agriculture, Livestock & Fisheries, Featured, People, Seminars

Plant cytogenomics in the post-genomics era

The release of the first human reference genome in 2003 marked the beginning of the post-genomics era when genetics progressed beyond gene-centered analyses to a myriad of omics approaches. Genome sequencing technologies have advanced dramatically from Sanger, second/next-generation, to third-generation sequencing platforms. Also, genome assembly methods and tools have evolved contemporaneously, resulting in a dramatic drop in genome assembly cost. Consequently, more than 360 plant species’ genomes have been assembled ever since the first plant genome, Arabidopsis thaliana, was published in 2000.

Philippine Genome Center Agriculture, Livestock & Fisheries, Featured, People, Seminars

“Oh, my Genes”: Lessons from Plant Genetics and Genomics for Trait Improvement

In recent years, genetics and genomics has played an important role in facilitating the genetic improvement of plants. Different tools have been developed to examine the structure, function, and properties of genes controlling complex traits. The genetic diversity of germplasm found in existing gene banks through different breeding populations such as core collections, nested association mapping panels, mutants, recombinant inbred lines, and multiparent advance generation intercross populations in germplasm banks served as sources of desirable alleles for plant breeding.

Philippine Genome Center Core Facility for Bioinformatics, Featured, Seminars

Cracking the genomes of marine & non-model organisms: novel approaches for correcting, assembling and scaffolding genomic data using de Bruijn graphs and Hi-C contact maps

For a very long time, most bioinformatic tools for handling genome data have been geared toward haploid (or diploid but nearly homozygous) organisms such as humans, bacteria and laboratory strains of model species. As a result, these tools often perform very badly on highly heterozygous diploid or polyploid organisms, which is the case of many non-model and/or marine species.

jong_de_castro
Philippine Genome Center Seminars

Medical Records in the Genomic Era

Dr. de Castro has a PhD in Biochemistry and Genetics (University of Texas Medical Branch), but also trained in the Neurosciences (California Institute of Technology, The Burnham Institute). His current work and interests lie in Cancer Immunology (3R Biosystems), and an advocacy for equitable access to health technologies (UnEMR). He is a Biomedical Informatics consultant of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and a Balik Scientist under a joint research informatics project between UP Manila and UPLB. He has an B.S. MBB degree from UP Diliman.