Committee Technical Sessions:
Emerging Technologies
Integrating Molecular Data Into National Cattle Evaluation
Return to the Angus
Beef Bulletin EXTRABOZEMAN, Mont. (June 3, 2011) — Serious cattle breeders of all stripes seek tools for genetic selection. Commercial cow-calf producers want tools for mitigating risk when choosing which bulls to buy. Seedstock breeders — the suppliers of those bulls — want tools that hasten genetic progress.
Expected progeny difference (EPD) values are widely used tools for genetic selection, but they will become even more valuable, according to University of Nebraska animal scientist Matt Spangler.
“Genomic information holds the promise to not only increase the accuracy of EPDs, but also add new and novel traits to our suite of traits included in national cattle evaluations,” Spangler stated during the 43rd annual Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) symposium in Bozeman, Mont.
Inclusion of DNA marker information into EPD calculations promises three primary benefits, according to Spangler. They include increased accuracy of prediction for young animals (before a phenotypic record can be collected), shortened generation intervals and calculation of EPD values for novel traits. Examples of novel traits might include feed efficiency, disease susceptibility, end-product healthfulness, or other traits for which there is little if any collection of phenotypes.
Spangler noted how numerous commercial DNA tests (marker panels) are available for complex traits. A given trait may be influenced by many genes, however, and there still exists considerable confusion among producers regarding the efficacy of DNA tests.
To help remedy that, said Spangler, the Weight Trait Project was begun in 2009 to investigate the reliability of marker-based predictions across beef breeds. It also provides a data resource helpful for determining methodology for incorporation of genomic information into national cattle evaluation calculation, with marker-assisted EPD values as the goal.
The Weight Trait Project will continue as part of a $5 million USDA grant-funded national research effort. This five-year project represents a collaborative effort among multiple land-grant universities, several breed associations and the USDA-Agricultural Research Service, with the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center, Clay Center, Neb., as the project hub.
To listen to this presentation and to view the proceedings paper and the PowerPoint that accompanied it, visit the Newsroom at www.BIFconference.com.
BIF’s 43rd Annual Research Symposium and Annual Meeting was hosted June 1-4 on campus at Montana State University, Bozeman, Mont.
Editor’s Note: This summary was written under contract or by staff of Angus Productions Inc. (API). Through an agreement with the Beef Improvement Federation, we are encouraging reprinting of the articles to those who will adhere to the reprint guidelines available on this site. Please review those guidelines or contact Shauna Rose Hermel, editor, at 816-383-5270. PowerPoints are posted with permission of the presenter and may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the express permission of the presenter.
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