This workshop was facilitated by IGSS in collaboration with GOBII. Participants were breeders, senior researchers, research assistants and technicians from NARS organizations within East African region such NaCRRI, KALRO, ARC, NaFORI, RAB and Ethiopian Biotechnology Center. The topics covered included Analyses of phenotypic data (i.e quality phenotypes), Tissue sample collection and submission, DArT Markers and the different formats & its applications. The workshop also focused on use of databases in data management. Data management and analysis tools covered were mainly KDDART system which include KDsmart for capturing and storing Trial measurement and result data in the field or nursery, KDexplore for data curation, KDmanage which enables users to perform a variety of administrative and day-to-day management tasks with their data stored in the KDDart database and KDcompute for downstream data analysis.

This workshop was sponsored by IGSS which is a Bill & Melinda Gates funded project, with support from Excellence in Breeding (EiB) and Genomics Open-Source Breeding and Informatics Initiative (GOBII). This was attended by more than 50 breeders from within East Africa region i.e. Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, and Rwanda. It targeted people from programs that are partnering with the IGSS now SEQART AFRICA either through an accepted proposal or by being a member of our Maize or Bean Communities of Practice. This second workshop was basically reaching out to all those breeders who had genotyped with IGSS and needed support in understanding DArTSeq data analysis and interpretation. Most of these breeders were part of the community of Practise and had benefitted from BMGF subsidized projects for genotyping offered by IGSS.

The purpose of the workshop was to improve the skills of scientists and staff in the areas of data management, molecular marker data, using markers in diversity analyses, mapping gene and QTLs, and implementing MAS. Topics covered during this workshops include but not limited to;

sampling and submitting samples to the platform, Introduction to DArTseq Data types and data formats, diversity analyses, QTL mapping, GWAS and Application of MAS and hands-on analytical software KDCompute demonstrations for the different analyses covered.

This workshop was an extension of marker-assisted selection (MAS) workshop held at ILRI Nairobi on 22nd-25th May 2018 mainly to reach out to West Africa region breeders. It was also facilitated by IGSS and attended by 25 participants from ten countries mostly within West African region i.e. South Africa, Ivory Coast, Benin, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo, Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon.

This workshop mainly provided training and support in DArTSeq data analysis and interpretation, marker assisted selection and DArTSeq sample preparation, sample collection and online ordering (demonstrations).

This workshop was sponsored by the IGSS, HTPG, and the Excellence in Breeding (EiB) programs. IGSS, HTPG, and EiB are all Bill & Melinda Gates funded projects. The participants were from CGIAR, NARS, Universities, and other research organizations from across Africa countries. The topics covered were introduction to Genomic Selection, theories of genomic selection and its applications. A lot of Hands-on training with KDCompute on Genomic selection analyses and its applications was also covered.

IGSS participated in this workshop to follow up with breeders attending the workshop and also reach out to Clients in Uganda. IGSS managed to visit various institutes within Uganda i.e. NaCCRI-National crops Resource Research Institute, IITA- The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, CIAT- International Centre for Tropical Agriculture, NaCORI-National Coffee Research Institute, NaLIRRI-National Livestock Resources Research Institute, MaRCCI- Makerere University Regional Centre for Crop Improvement.

IGSS workshop on a “Marker Assisted Breeding” was an intensive one-month training which begun with a two-week (2-13 September) hands on lab training on genotyping by sequencing using DArTSeq, primarily handled by the Integrated Genotyping Support Services (IGSS) team. 30 young PhD and Msc researchers from GENES (http://www.genes-intra-africa.org.) and MoBreed -Mobility for Breeders in Africa (https://mobreed.com/.) participated . These projects were funded by Intra-Africa Academic Mobility Scheme, a mobility program developed by the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACAE) of the European Union which supports higher education cooperation between countries in Africa. The scheme aims to promote sustainable development and ultimately contribute to poverty reduction by increasing the availability of trained and qualified high-level professional manpower in Africa. IGSS led the training for these young scholars to equip them in designing and developing molecular approaches to increase the potential of genomic breeding to help adapt crops to climate change as well as genotyping their samples.

Theory and practical applications of genomic selection was presented, along with opportunities for hands-on training in data analysis in the third week. The second portion of the meeting (23-27 September) featured presentations from our scientists on bioinformatics and statistical analyses as well as an introduction to demand led breeding. In addition, some of the workshop participants made presentations on practical applications of IGSS data in marker-assisted selection and quality control. Both sessions featured presentations, discussions, and some hands-on training.

The scope of this training workshop to the researchers included;

· Provide practical skills and concepts in basic molecular biology and bioinformatics

· Experience the discovery process as a team

· Provide skills to establish basic molecular biology and bioinformatics at various institutes

· Give researchers basic concepts of molecular biology and bioinformatics for understanding various contemporary areas of research and their applications and for communicating with other researchers in these fields and apply

· Help establish links between researchers and IGSS now SEQART AFRICA

IGSS  sponsored a workshop from October 21st to October 22nd, 2019 at WACCI, University of Ghana. This workshop was organized by IGSS to support breeders within West Africa region to apply molecular markers in doing genomic selection in their breeding programs. This workshop covered topics on; Overview of IGSS, Sample collection, Genomic selection, DArTSeq analysis using analytical software KDCompute.

30 participants were invited who were mostly holders of Msc or PhD in plant breeding employed by NARS, IITA, those associated with WAVE or Universities many of which have already had IGSS subsidized genotyping projects. Facilitators were Prof. Clay Sneller, Dr. Cathrine Ziyomo, Ms. Mercy Chepngetich, and Mr. Martin Kanyeki.

IGSS team was also privileged to attend the launch of African Plant Breeders Association Conference (APBA) held at University of Ghana to further interact with breeders who attended the launch and further provide support to the breeders.

The establishment of IGSS platform in 2015 with funding from the Gates foundation at BECA – ILRI hub in Kenya has contributed to building a critical mass of African breeders technically competent in the use of DNA markers for crop improvement. In addition, the platform has increased accessibility and utilization of genotypic data for research and breeding. IGSS was jointly operated by Diversity Arrays Technology Pty Ltd (DArT), an Australian based genotyping and information technology company – and the Biosciences eastern and central Africa (BecA) – ILRI Hub – a shared agricultural biosciences facility in Nairobi. Beginning 2020, IGSS  transitioned into self-sustaining operations as a non-profit organization called SEQART AFRICA.

Capacity building in Africa remains critical and IGSS is did a workshop themed Applications of GBS data in breeding programs from the 28th to the 30th of January  2020 at ILRI campus in Nairobi. 60 participants from 12 different countries in Africa affiliated with universities, national research institutions and other research stations were invited. The participants had different skills set and majored on different crops. The objectives of the workshop were to sensitize participants about SEQART AFRICA, new services to be provided and how the operations will be different from those offered by IGSS. In addition, participants received support on data analysis in KDCompute, placing an online order and any other support that they required to modernize their breeding programs.