PRODUCERS are just one year away from a new tool for selecting future breeding stock.
The Beef CRC, in partnership with CSIRO Livestock Industries and the Victorian Department of Primary Industries, has mapped the genome sequence of the popular Australian Brahman bull.
The unique information from the bull will be used in a new generation of DNA markers that producers can use to identify important production traits in cattle.
Beef CRC chief scientist Mike Goddard said the discovery brought Australian producers of all breeds one step closer to a new tool for selecting future breeders and sires.
"Genome sequencing allows us to find millions of genetic markers and among these there will be mutations in the genome that affect carcass, growth and other traits of interest," he said.
A commercial DNA test for such mutations was just 12 months away, he said.
"DNA testing will allow producers to select for the same traits they have in the past, but with younger animals and greater accuracy," Dr Goddard said.
DNA testing will require an ear notch, hair, blood or semen sample to be taken from the animal.
It's hoped that, once validated, the results from DNA testing can be compiled by Breedplan and incorporated into estimated breeding values.
Beef CRC chief executive officer Dr Heather Burrow said this was the first time an animal from a breed adapted for tropical conditions had been sequenced.
"It's critical Australian producers can use DNA markers that incorporate the genetic variation that occurs in tropically adapted cattle, as over half of Australia's beef production is based in the tropics," Dr Burrow said.
Brahman and Brahman-cross cattle comprise more than half of the Australian beef cattle population.
"To date, most of the data used to make DNA markers have been based on breeds suited to a temperate climate," she said.
