Meeting Review: Worldwide genomic resources for non‐model fish species

Abstract

Fish genomics is developing an increasingly high profile, with the sequencing of four fish genomes (Takifugu, Tetraodon, zebrafish and medaka). However, numerous other fish species are used in laboratories throughout the world (the so-called ‘alternative-model’ or ‘non-model’ fish species), providing unique insights into fields ranging from physiology, toxicology and behaviour to evolution and ecology. The diversity in both species and experimental systems is in many ways both the strength and the weakness of fish as subjects for study. The strength comes from the sheer range of adapted forms and physiologies, many of which offer unique opportunities for exploring fundamental problems in biology. The weakness comes from a rather fragmented fish biology community, which is often species-centric, with collaborations restricted to a limited number of researchers working on the same (or similar) species or, in fewer instances, on the same phenomenon in diverse species. The aim of this discussion workshop was to bring together international fish scientists to review the current use of advanced genomic and post-genomic technologies in diverse fields of fish biology and to foster a new coherence in the coordinated development of screening technologies and the sharing of underpinning resources. This would not only invigorate gene function analysis but also enable new cross-taxon analysis of genome evolution. The workshop was organized by Andrew Cossins (Liverpool, UK) and sponsored by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Environmental Genomics Science Programme and the Biotechnology and Biological Research Council (BBSRC). The invited participants comprised an international mix of US, Japanese and European scientists, with representatives from the major