By Matt Spangler, Extension Beef Genetics Specialist
Genomic tools are not new to the U.S. Beef Industry. For over 15 years there have been products in the market place. However, the technology has advanced substantially to the point of becoming relatively commonplace in the majority of seedstock enterprises. The benefit is clear, the accuracy of EPD increases for genotyped animals enabling faster genetic change and the ability to make more accurate selection decisions. Although the use of genomic data is common in seedstock enterprises and by the animal ge-netics research community, the use of genomic data need not end there.
The use of genomic technology can largely fall into three broad buckets: 1) parentage testing/validation,
2) diagnostic tests for simply inherited traits (i.e., genetic defects, coat color, horned/pooled status), and
3) prediction of genetic value for complex traits (i.e., growth, fertility, carcass merit, etc.). The ability to routinely genotype large research herds, like the one at GSL, enables research that leverages all three of these buckets. All animals in the GSL herd are genotyped with ~100,000 DNA markers (single nucleo-tide polymorphisms; SNP) and have been since 2019. These markers allow for the formation of pedigree by correctly assigning animals to their respective parents. Having known pedigree allows these animals to be recorded with the American Simmental Association and for the calculation of EPD for the animals in this herd. Simply having paternity assigned in a research setting can lead to experimental design and/or downstream data analysis that can tease apart differences in outcomes due to genetics and those due to experimental treatments. This can not only increase the power of experiments but can also lead to more accurate and robust recommendations to producers. Overtime, as the amount of data grows, the degree to which genetics and environment/management interact can be quantified ultimately leading to more prescriptive recommendations to beef cattle producers. Another benefit of having such dense ge-nomic information available is the identification of novel genetic abnormalities (defects). Mutations oc-cur relatively frequently although most are neutral meaning that they have no (known) effect. Some mu-tations are even beneficial, giving rise to new sources of genetic variation. However, some are not desira-ble. In research herds, where trained personnel carefully record abnormalities, these observations can be paired with genomic data to determine the location in the genome responsible and to enable the global beef industry to make selection and mating decisions with this knowledge in hand.
In heavily phenotyped research herds, such as GSL, there are often novel traits recorded—grazing behav-ior of animals, milk yield/composition/persistency, and traits related to metabolic efficiency. There is little doubt that there is some degree of genetic control of all of these characteristics, but quantifying the relative role that genetics, nutrition, management, and the production environment all play is a critical step towards being able to provide advice to
producers who wish to change their own herds. Having genomic information allows us to do that.
Genetic/genomic data are not, and should not, be re-stricted to use cases involving only geneticists. These are tools that can benefit all disciplines as we move forward in elucidating the complex interactions be-tween genotype, environment, management, and so-cietal needs/concerns. Turning these data into infor-mation to answer research questions is only the first step. Ultimately the goal is to turn the information into actionable items for on-ranch decisions.