This hands-on virtual course will introduce participants to methods and approaches for analysing genomic data from common livestock species, including cattle, pig, chicken, and sheep. During the course participants will learn about the use of sequencing methods in the field of livestock genomics, resequencing genomes, locating variant data, annotating genomes, and carrying out GWAS approaches. The course will also cover the use of public EMBL-EBI resources such as Ensembl, EVA, and ENA to progress in your research, as well as to submit and share your discoveries with the community, and will present relevant use cases in the field. The course will enable you to harness the wealth of publicly available farmed animal datasets held in EMBL-EBI public archives and utilise our free services and tools to for example, identify genetic variants associated with disease, identify genetic markers associated with desirable breeding traits, or use Ensembl Variant Effect Predictor (VEP) tool to predict the functional impact of genetic variants. EMBL-EBI is committed to support the livestock research community and industry to improve animal health and welfare, increase productivity, and reduce environmental impact.

Virtual course

Participants will learn via a mix of pre-recorded lectures, live presentations, and trainer-led computational exercises. Live sessions will be delivered using Zoom with additional support and asynchronous communication via Slack.

Pre-recorded material may be provided before the course starts that participants will need to watch, read, or work through to gain the most out of the actual training event. In the week before the course, there will be a brief induction session. Computational practicals will run on EMBL-EBI's virtual training infrastructure, meaning participants will not require access to a powerful computer or install complex software on their own machines.

Participants will need to be available during the course hours, maximum 09:00 – 18:30 GMT each day of the course. Trainers will be available to assist, answer questions, and provide further explanations during these times.