CO-FUNDED BY THE FONDS QUÉBÉCOIS DE LA RECHERCHE SUR LA NATURE ET LE LES TECHNOLOGIES (FRQNT)
The dairy industry is very interested to optimize the selection of calves to raise for becoming milking cows in order to decrease the occurrence of diseases and to optimize livestock health. Thus, selection requires tools that are applicable very early in life and with good predictive value ensuring that the healthier or the more resilient animals are selected to reduce disease and antibiotic use. To build such tool, precises phenotypes (Health score) are to be associated with biomarkers which predict the outcome.
Such molecular markers must first be validated, and the project will use an already funded experiment aimed at creating health scores in 40 farms across Quebec to obtain samples for biomarker analysis and validation. More than 1000 animals will be tested and genotyped to create the validation dataset and to allow the selection of specific biomarkers for selecting the animal early after birth. The benefit to the user is a more efficient selection process, an economy on health cost and better longevity for the selected animals all of which reduce the industrial footprint associated with milk production.
Genome Centre: Génome Québec
User:
| Filippo | Miglior | Lactanet and University of Guelph |