WASHINGTON – Along with research, education is a key element of the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology’s mission.

So, officials with the Huntsville-based center went on a mission to Capitol Hill last month and presented “Genomics in Agriculture 101: Exploring the Basics” in the Rayburn House Office Building. It was the third time HudsonAlpha held a “Genomics 101” session for lawmakers and their staff.

Members of Congress, their staff and House and Senate Committee staff members engaged with Jeremy Schmutz, faculty investigator and co-director of the HudsonAlpha Genome Sequencing Center; Dr. Kankshita Swaminathan, faculty investigator; and Dr. Neil Lamb, vice president for Educational Outreach, during the briefing.

The purpose for “Genomics in Agriculture 101” was to provide a forum for leaders in plant genomics to interact with the leaders who drive national policy, impacting agriculture for the United States and beyond.

“Enormous progress has been made in plant genomics in just a few short years. We have gone from generating a single reference genome for a single plant, to generating hundreds of reference plant genomes and detailed diversity of crop collections,” said Schmutz. “These advances are providing solutions to the many agricultural challenges faced by the farming community every day.

“Genomics 101 provided decision makers on national policy an opportunity to learn more about the reach and impact of genomics in agriculture.”

Some of the topics discussed at the briefing involved the power and utility of the information gained through genomics, specifically regarding improvement of crop yields; acceleration of breeding cycles; resistance to diseases and pests; reaction and resulting changes based as a result of drought or floods. Additionally, the group from HudsonAlpha stressed the importance of collaboration within the field of plant genomics.