Seven Forty Seven, a world renowned Grand Champion bull at the Iowa state fair in 1980, is a key founder of the Canadian Limousin herd and one of the bulls sequenced and genotyped by the Canadian Cattle Genome Project. (Photo credit: Fred Stevens / Canadian Cattle Genome Project)
The first phase of the “1000 Bulls Project” reports complete DNA sequences for 234 animals that are considered key ancestors of the worldwide Holstein-Fresian, Jersey and Fleckvieh breeds.
By cross-referencing the tiny differences in these genomes with information on the animals performance – milk production (in dairy animals), weight gain (in beef cattle), genetic defects, etc. – the results will help farmers around the world select for the most beneficial traits in their herd and provide consumers with better meat and milk products.
The ongoing project includes important contributions from the Canadian Cattle Genome Project.
Original research paper published in the journal Nature Genetics on July 13, 2014.
Names and affiliations of selected authors
Ben Hayes, Bundoora, Australia
Paul Stothard, University of Alberta, Alberta
Mary De Pauw, Canadian Cattle Genome Project
**For more on how bovine genomics are used to improve the traits of cattle herds, check our our backgrounder on the subject. More backgrounders on the use of genomics in agriculture are available here.
