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Baylor
College of Medicine scientists have created a genetic map
of a cow, providing researchers a new tool to reduce animal
disease and improve the nutrition of beef and dairy products,
according to an article in the Billings (Montana)
Gazette .
The
announcement was a major development in the $53 million
international project to sequence the genome of different
breeds of cattle. "Sequencing the bovine genome is a major
accomplishment ... in human and agricultural research,"
USDA Undersecretary Joseph Jen said in a press release.
The
program, launched last December, was aimed at documenting
each of the 3 billion base pairs of the cattle DNA code
– approximately the same number as found in humans and other
mammals. The initial draft involved genes of the Hereford
breed. Jen said that the first draft sequence has been put
into a free public database, making it accessible to biomedical
and agricultural scientists around the world.
"The
bovine genome sequence will serve as a tool for agricultural
researchers striving to improve health and disease management
of cattle and enhance the nutritional value of beef and
dairy products," release read. By identifying and better
understanding the function of genes in cattle, researchers
will be able to track the genetic makeup of cattle and breed
better cattle. Desired traits include faster growth, larger
high-value cuts, improved tenderness and juiciness, and
higher disease resistance.
The
research was carried out by a team at the Baylor College
of Medicine's Human Genome Sequencing Center in Houston,
Texas. About half of the funding for the project, $25 million,
was from the National Human Genome Research Institute, part
of the National Institutes of Health, the Gazette
said. USDA contributed $11 million and the state of Texas
added $10 million. Additional support came from organizations
in Texas, South Dakota, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
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