Genomics and the global beef cattle industry1

After two decades of developing DNA-based tools for selection, we are at an interesting juncture. Genomic technology has essentially eliminated the potentially large negative impact of spontaneous single-mutation genetic defects as the management of recent examples in beef cattle have demonstrated. We have the ability to perform more accurate selection based on molecular breeding values (MBVs) for animals closely related to the discovery population. Yet the amount of genetic variation explained falls short of expectations held for the technology. Tests are less effective in distant relatives within a breed and are not robust enough for across-breed use. It is hypothesised that ‘larger single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) panels’ will help extend the effective use of tests to more distantly related animals and across breeds. Sequencing and imputing sequences across individuals will enable us to discover causative mutations or SNPs in perfect harmony with the mutation. However, the investment to revisit discovery populations will be large. We can ill afford to duplicate genotyping or sequencing activities for prominent individuals. Hence, a global strategy for genotyping and sequencing becomes an attractive proposition as many of our livestock populations are related. As we learned more of the complexities of the genome, the number of animals in discovery populations necessary to achieve high levels of predictability has grown dramatically. No one organisation has the resources to assemble the animals needed, especially for novel, expensive or hard to measure phenotypes. This scenario is fertile ground for increased international collaboration in all livestock species.