Omsk SAU Professor participated in an international seminar on genomic technologies in agriculture

Professor Vladimir Petrovich Shamanin took part in the international seminar "The use of modern genomic technologies in the improvement of agricultural plants", which was held at S.Seifullin Kazakh Agrotechnical University on March 29-31.

Genomic and phenotypic tools have been significantly improved in recent years. They are included in the breeding research programs for many agricultural crops. Being a major producer of cereals, oilseeds and legumes, Kazakhstan is still lagging behind in the field of developing and applying new technologies. 

The seminar participants presented advanced achievements in the field and discussed the current situation with genomic tools. They emphasized the issues of crop production in Kazakhstan and outlooks for establishing international cooperation to expand the scope of research on breeding and genetics.

Several Russian and international organisations participated in the seminar: Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Moscow, Russia (Project Center for Agro Technologies), Omsk SAU, CIMMYT, and FAO. 

Their representatives made a series of presentations:

• Timur Savin (Head of the Research Department at S.Seifullin Kazakh Agrotechnical University) - "Improvement of grain crops in Kazakhstan"; 
• Laurent Gentzbittel (Professor, Director of the Center for Agricultural Technologies at Skoltech - Skolkovo, Moscow) - "Skoltech's programs and development of solutions for the agri-food industry"; 
• Ben Cecile (Professor, Head of the Program on Plant Genomic Selection at Skoltech) - "Genome-wide selection of legumes"; 
• Alexey Morgunov (CIMMYT-FAO) - "Crop production in Kazakhstan and priorities of breeding and genomic research"; 
• Vladimir Shamanin (Professor, Director of the International Genetics and Breeding Center at Omsk State Agrarian University) - "Marker-assisted wheat selection in Omsk State Agrarian University". 

The participants visited the labs of S.Seifullin Kazakh Agrotechnical University, the Kazakhstan Regional Inspectorate on a Crop Variety Testing, and a A. I. Baraev Research and Production Centre for Grain Farming in Shortandy district, where they met with scientists and discussed topical issues of selective breeding, seed production, variety testing, and genomic technologies in crop production.