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Landscapes Forest and Global Change - ESA - Escola Superior ...

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S. Joost et al. 2010. GEOME. Towards an integrated web-based l<strong>and</strong>scape genomics platform<br />

668<br />

GEOME<br />

Towards an integrated web-based l<strong>and</strong>scape genomics platform<br />

Stéphane Joost 1* , Michael Kalbermatten 1 & Nicolas Ray 2<br />

1<br />

GIS Research Laboratory (LASIG), Institute of Environmental Engineering (IIE),<br />

School of Architecture, Civil <strong>and</strong> Environmental Engineering (ENAC), Ecole<br />

Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerl<strong>and</strong><br />

2<br />

EnviroSPACE Laboratory, Institute for environmental Sciences (ISE),<br />

University of Geneva, Switzerl<strong>and</strong><br />

Abstract<br />

The aim of the GEOME project is to develop a WebGIS-based platform for the integrated<br />

analysis of environmental, ecological <strong>and</strong> molecular data through the implementation of an<br />

original set of combined databases, spatial analysis <strong>and</strong> population genetics tools, in a High<br />

Performance Computing context. GEOME will support tasks of l<strong>and</strong>scape ecologists <strong>and</strong><br />

resource conservation managers who increasingly have to use geo-referenced data but are not<br />

trained to efficiently use Geographical Information Systems together with appropriate geoenvironmental<br />

information <strong>and</strong> spatial analysis approaches. Preliminary developments (three<br />

first applications) are already available here: http://lasigpc8.epfl.ch/geome/<br />

Keywords: l<strong>and</strong>scape genomics, geocomputation, environmental data, adaptation, GIS<br />

1. Introduction<br />

Since 2000, we are witnessing a progressive integration of the fields of ecology, evolution <strong>and</strong><br />

population genetics (Lawry 2010). The combination of l<strong>and</strong>scape ecology with population<br />

genetics led to the advent of l<strong>and</strong>scape genetics whose goal is to underst<strong>and</strong> how geographical<br />

<strong>and</strong> environmental features structure genetic variation in living organisms (Manel 2003).<br />

Recently, l<strong>and</strong>scape genomics (Luikart 2003; Joost 2007; Lawry 2010) emerged as a research<br />

field at the interface of genome sciences, environmental resources analysis <strong>and</strong> spatial statistics.<br />

The combination of these fields permits to assess the level of association between specific<br />

genomic regions <strong>and</strong> environmental factors to identify loci responsible for adaptation to<br />

different habitats (Lawry 2010). Henceforth, knowledge of geo-environmental data <strong>and</strong> skills in<br />

GIS are a necessity to develop research or management activities in these l<strong>and</strong>scape sciences.<br />

To favor the use of l<strong>and</strong>scape genomics <strong>and</strong> to facilitate access to necessary geo-environmental<br />

data, GIS <strong>and</strong> spatial analysis tools, the development of a robust <strong>and</strong> efficient computer<br />

infrastructure is required. Therefore, GEOME will constitute a robust, easy-to-use <strong>and</strong> powerful<br />

internet platform based on High Performance Computing (HPC), able to h<strong>and</strong>le <strong>and</strong> process<br />

very large genome <strong>and</strong> environmental data sets, <strong>and</strong> offering facilities for the statistical <strong>and</strong><br />

(geo)visual analysis of results (http://lasigpc8.epfl.ch/geome/).<br />

The GEOME platform will support access to free geo-environmental data (database) <strong>and</strong><br />

provide dedicated GIS tools to scientists <strong>and</strong> professional users (e.g. l<strong>and</strong>scape ecologists or<br />

resource conservation managers) who often do not have a background nor a training in<br />

* Corresponding author. Tel.:+41216935782 - Fax:+41216935790<br />

Email address: stephane.joost@epfl.ch<br />

<strong>Forest</strong> <strong>L<strong>and</strong>scapes</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Global</strong> <strong>Change</strong>-New Frontiers in Management, Conservation <strong>and</strong> Restoration. Proceedings of the IUFRO L<strong>and</strong>scape Ecology<br />

Working Group International Conference, September 21-27, 2010, Bragança, Portugal. J.C. Azevedo, M. Feliciano, J. Castro & M.A. Pinto (eds.)<br />

2010, Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Bragança, Portugal.

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