[CDHC] Example of letter of support

Cheryl Woodley Cheryl.Woodley at noaa.gov
Wed Sep 10 09:06:37 EDT 2003


Hi CDHC Members,
Yesterday I posted a request from Dr. Gary Ostrander asking you to
respond with a letter of support for sequencing a coral genome.  Gary is
already beginning to receive a few letters and thought it may be helpful
to share one of them with you to give you an idea of what the review
panel is looking for in letters of support.  I have pasted this below
for your information.  Again I encourage you to respond with your
support to help achieve a significant goal of the CDHC as well as the
coral research community.  Please note that references are not needed.

Regards,
Cheryl Woodley

From:
Professor M.J.C. Crabbe
Head of School

Tel: 0118 378 8894
Mobile: 078100 88573
Fax: 0118 931 6560
E-mail: m.j.c.crabbe at reading.ac.uk
Web www.ams.rdg.ac.uk/DMCB/wolfson

10 September 2003

Dear Gary,

  Re : Sequencing of Porites lobata genome

I am writing to strongly support the sequencing of Porites lobata
project. I have been studying the influence of environmental and
anthropogenic effects on coral growth and survival in both the Caribbean
and Indo-Pacific (e.g. 1-4).  I am interested in the cloning of genes of
small heat shock proteins in corals which in other systems (5) are key
to survival.   If the Porites sequence were available we could download
the sequence, make PCR primers and screen for mutations in corals at
risk from bleaching and sedimentation.  In addition, we could use
positional cloning to follow transport of genetic material in corals
across spatio-temporal regions, and build up a much better picture of
how corals adapt to survive.  This will aid policies on coral reef
management.  Thirdly, we could answer important questions in symbiotic
relationships in biology on the potential transfer of genetic material
from zooxanthellae to polyp genomes.  This project will transform our
ability to obtain funding and train students in modern molecular biology
techniques in environmental science.
References
1. Crabbe, M.J.C. (2003) A novel method for the transport and analysis
of genetic material from polyps and zooxanthellae of scleractinian
corals.  J. Biochem. Biophys. Methods. 57, 171-176.
2. Crabbe, M.J.C. and Smith, D.J. (2003) Computer modelling and
estimation of recruitment patterns of non-branching coral colonies at
three sites in the Wakatobi Marine Park, SE Sulawesi, Indonesia;
Implications for coral reef conservation.  Computational Biology and
Chemistry. 27, 17-27.
3. Crabbe, M.J.C. and Smith, D.J. (2002) Comparison of two reef sites in
the Wakatobi Marine National Park (SE Sulawesi, Indonesia) using digital
image analysis. Coral Reefs. 21: 242-244
4. Crabbe, M.J.C., Mendes, J.M. and Warner, G.F. (2002) Lack of
recruitment of non-branching corals in Discovery Bay is linked to severe
storms.  Bull. Marine Sci. 70, 939-945.
5. Plater, M.L., Goode, D. and Crabbe, M.J.C. Effects of site-directed
mutations on the chaperone-like activity of alpha-B crystallin.  J.
Biol. Chem. (1996) 271, 28558-28566.


Yours sincerely,

Professor M.J.C. Crabbe

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