Forest land makes up more than 40% of Prince Edward Island, with more than 80% privately owned. Protecting this precious resource through sustainable forest management – for harvest, protected areas, and wildlife management – is in everyone’s best interests. Genome Atlantic’s Impact Report 2018-2023 includes a pan-Atlantic case study focusing on genomic selective breeding for healthy, productive forests. Selective breeding has long been a valuable tree improvement tool for the forestry industry. Through conventional breeding, it takes 20-30 years to complete a cycle of selective breeding. Enter genomics, a game-changing suite of tools, methods and technologies that requires only five years to select the best traits. Recognizing the need for a coordinated approach to genomics research in tree improvement, Genome Atlantic helped to set up the Atlantic Tree Improvement Council (AtlanTIC). Through AtlanTIC, industry, government, and researchers in all four Atlantic provinces can coordinate large-scale research initiatives with test sites across the region –- sharing the latest advances in tree improvement to benefit the industry across Atlantic Canada.

Prince Edward Island blue mussel producer Atlantic Aqua Farms has partnered with a Dalhousie University research team and Genome Atlantic on a $3.4M Genome Atlantic R&D project announced in December 2023 to develop Canada’s first-ever genomics selective breeding program for a meatier variety called the triploid mussel. Triploid musses are faster-growing, meatier and more resistant to climate change – and because they grow faster, they can boost production without the need to increase water leases. This R&D initiatives builds on an earlier, $800,000 Genome Atlantic partnership with the Prince Edward Island government and Island mussel producers to create genomic tools for a blue mussel selective breeding program aimed at protecting this valuable shellfish resource against climate change and preserving the Island’s dominance in the North America market.

Genomics is a green technology that is helping Atlantic Canadian companies and industries to grow more sustainably and to reduce their carbon footprint. Please watch our new video Genomics and Sustainability, to find out how Genome Atlantic’s work across the region is helping to strengthen our natural resource industries and shape a greener, better future.

Genomics training capacity is crucial because it empowers individuals with the knowledge and skills necessary to harness genomics technologies to drive innovations that benefit health, the economy, and the environment. Yet, training opportunities in genomics are limited in Atlantic Canada and across the country. To address the gap, Genome Atlantic is partnering with the New Brunswick Community College (NBCC) to conduct a needs assessment for genomics capacity in the region. This needs assessment is an important first step towards the goal of developing genomics training components to the NBCC program.

Earlier this month, the Government of Canada announced research support for a $4.7 Million Complex Gill Health Initiative that is being co-led by Genome Atlantic and a research team from the Atlantic Veterinary College (AVC) at the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI).

The project will validate biomarkers of healthy and compromised gills of Atlantic salmon and use these to develop an early warning system for the development of gill disease on Atlantic salmon production sites across Canada. The resulting genomics-enabled tools for fish health will guide the management and intervention strategies for complex gill disease in Atlantic salmon.

A significant portion of the project funding will support the UPEI research team led by Dr. Mark Fast as well positions for two graduate students and two Postdoctoral fellows at UPEI – an important step in building genomics research capacity in aquaculture within AVC and the province.  We congratulate Dr. Fast and his team, and we acknowledge the generous support of project funders the Government of Canada through Genome Canada, the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Genome BC, BC Salmon Farmers Association, Mitacs Canada, Memorial University, the University of Prince Edward Island, and industry partners Cermaq Canada, Grieg Seafood, and Cargill.

Genome Atlantic is proud to be a founding member of the recently formed Atlantic Tree Improvement Council (AtlanTIC), a pan-Atlantic collaborative of private and public sector organizations committed to realizing the economic and environmental benefits of tree improvement in Atlantic Canada through collaborative breeding, field testing, resource sharing and research.

In February, Nova Scotia’s Forestry Innovation Transition Trust provided funding to Genome Atlantic of $315,500 over four years to support The Atlantic Tree Improvement Council (AtlanTIC) to help support new field testing of tree improvement technologies such as genomics which have been shown to shorten breeding cycles and increase growth rate, wood quality, pest resistance and adaptation to climate change.

Adding genomics to the tree improvement toolkit can save considerable time and money for the forestry industry. For example, a recent genomics project that Genome Atlantic carried out in collaboration with a regional industry partner resulted in an estimated 10% increase in production of commercial spruce trees on a test tract of land where the project was conducted. The AtlanTIC collaborative will be a means for conducting more proof of concept applications of tree improvement technologies, and sharing the results with companies across the region.

Genome Atlantic is pleased to partner with AtlanTIC to help the forestry industry realize the economic and environmental benefits of tree improvement technologies.

The Chief Medical Officer of Canada has consistently highlighted the critical importance of COVID-19 testing capacity to support re-opening the economy, and genomic tools are proving to be invaluable in this regard. Genomics plays a vital role in detecting infections, tracking disease spread, and developing tests, vaccines and treatments. Genome Atlantic is working tirelessly to support local research focusing on some of our biggest challenges in relation to the pandemic.

On June 15, we announced more than $300,000 in funding for two research projects led by Atlantic Canada scientists – one focusing on biomarkers to predict disease severity, and the other piloting a simple, quick and inexpensive surveillance tool for screening COVID-19 in high-risk settings like long-term care facilities fish processing and meat packing plants, fishing boats, etc. Both projects are supported by Genome Atlantic with $250,000 in funding from Genome Canada’s COVID-19 Regional Genomics Initiative.