Description:
This special topics SSR webinar will focus on the current state of genetic modifications in agriculture. Especially, how gene editing has been harnessed in reproductive biology to address health and productivity challenges in livestock, with a focus on the poultry, pork, and beef industries. Discussion will highlight both recent successes and outstanding hurdles. Topics will also be held the context of regulatory policies, social appetite, and food security.
Moderator:
Michela Ciccarelli, DVM, MS, PhD, Dipl. ACT
Assistant Professor
Comparative Theriogenology
Veterinary Clinical Sciences
College of Veterinary Medicine
Washington State University
Panelists:
Jon M. Oatley, PhD
Associate Dean for Research
Professor, School of Molecular Biosciences
Director, Functional Genomics Initiative
College of Veterinary Medicine
Washington State University
Mike McGrew, PhD
Personal Chair of Avian Reproductive Technologies (ART)
The Roslin Institute
Easter Bush Campus
University of Edinburgh
Speaker: Dr. Katy Patras, Baylor College of Medicine, USA
Title: Gestational diabetes disrupts maternal immunity and the vaginal microbiota to promote bacterial infection.
Description: Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is a pervasive perinatal pathogen, and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) increases the risk of GBS perinatal disease although the underlying mechanisms are unknown. Using a novel murine GDM model of GBS colonization, we found that GDM mice had greater GBS dissemination and worse neonatal outcomes. GDM altered host responses, including reduced uterine natural killer cell activation and recruitment, and distinct vaginal microbial taxa were associated with GDM status and GBS invasive disease status. Our translational model of GBS perinatal transmission in GDM hosts recapitulates several clinical aspects and enables discovery of host and bacterial drivers of GBS perinatal disease.
Speaker: Dr. Daniel Mathew, University of Tennessee, USA
Title: The In Vitro Produced Conceptus: What the Endometrium Can Tell Us
Description: The early conceptus creates a microenvironment with the surrounding endometrium, supporting pre-implantation development. During this webinar I’ll discuss how the in vitro produced cow conceptus impacts the endometrial transcriptome and surrounding proteome compared to the in vivo derived conceptus and how that may influence establishment of pregnancy.
