Project

Contact: Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Klaus Wimmers, Tina Hartwig

Duration: 2023-2025

Funding: Horizon Europe INFRA-DEV funding stream

Abstract:

Advancing farm animal science and genotype-to-phenotype research in Europe

Farm Animal science aims to improve the health, welfare and productivity of animals while ensuring sustainability for animal products. Due to population growth, climate change and animal welfare legislation, livestock farming systems and value chains for food production value chains are undergoing profound changes at European and global level. This presents both major risks and enormous opportunities to design an improved and adapted strategy in the European area of nutrition and health.  In this context, the EU-funded EuroFAANG project will develop a concept for a sustainable pan-European infrastructure for genotype-to-phenotype (G2P) research across economically relevant livestock species in order to achieve sustainable, efficient and socially accepted livestock production in Europe.

The aim of the research infrastructure is to optimize the  interdisciplinary capabilities of livestock research for G2P and to provide the European research community and stakeholders access to all  relevant facilities, expertise and knowledge. In this way,the infrastructure will support G2P livestock research in Europe, advancing excellent science and frontier research based on user-defined priorities. It will also directly contribute to filling the gaps identified in the 2021 Roadmap of the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) regarding the need to bring together national and international facilities in the field of animal genetic resources, phenotyping and breeding, and animal health at a pan-European level. This includes biobanks as well as research into the innovation potential of in vitro models, genome editing and technological advancements to close the knowledge gap between cell, tissue and whole animal scales.

The EuroFAANG research infrastructure (RI) is currently at the development/design stage of the life cycle of a research infrastructure within the ESFRI life cycle. To reach the next stage, the EuroFAANG RI concept needs to be formalized to include a business plan, an access policy, a completed design study and many aspects of the scientific concept for the infrastructure. This will enable EuroFAANG RI to establish key structures and processes:

• Providing a single point of contact for networking research projects and infrastructures relevant for G2P research in farmed animals,
• Cooperation agreements with other farm animal infrastructures to achieve common goals related to broader scientific, economic and social impacts and to promote research and innovation at a European level
• Partnership with industry representatives, enabling them to adapt breeding programmes and technologies more quickly to future challenge
• A joined strategy proposed with ELIXIR to build an animal science community

The EuroFAANG scientific Infrastructure aims to improve the current G2P research landscape in the field of farm animal sciences by providing the following services:

1. Access to data, including genomic and phenotype data and sample metadata
2. Access to biobanks of reference samples, including organoids and genome-edited cell lines
3. Access to world-leading expertise in G2P research for livestock, in vitro methodologies and tools to bridge G2P knowledge gaps
4. Access to training to build the next generation of researchers in farm animal science

More Information:

Webseite: Home - EuroFAANG
X: www.twitter.com/EuroFAANG
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@EuroFAANGRI