Genomics: delivering added value to the beef industry?

An international effort in animal genomics has promised a better way to select animals based on predictive, markers for many production-and quality, traits. Coupled with advances in reproductive technology, the approach could-revolutionize the way farm animals are selected and bred. Approaches towards the application of the technology are however not universal across the different animal species, due in large part to the structures of the industries. The beef industry in particular is problematic, due to the lack of vertical integration-and the diverse nature of the breeding sector. For genomics technologies to impact fully on the beef industry, a higher level of sophistication of the genetic tests will be needed. Tests based on the genes themselves, rather than DNA markers associated with genes, will be required. Further, an understanding of how multiple genes interact to affect important traits in cattle will be required if maximum benefit is to be realized from genomics technologies. Thus the application of marker-assisted selection will best achieved in the context of traditional quantitative genetic analysis, already practised in a large section of the cattle-breeding industry.