December 13, 2006

 

DNA analysis may benefit Missouri beef-cattle business

 

 

A DNA analysis could soon be used in Missouri's US$1.5-billion beef-cattle business to get the most value from selecting, feeding and slaughtering animals.

 

Genetic differences remained in the cattle even after taking the hide off, pointed out Sue DeNise, vice president of research and development at MMI Genomics Inc. of Davis, Calif. Such differences led to differences in animals, he added.

 

Traditional breeding requires a mix of visual observations of an animal's characteristics, the breeder's experience and intuition, and an analysis of the its carcass after slaughter to improve meat-producing qualities in subsequent generations.

 

Some of the qualities cattle breeders look for include fat marbling in muscle, tenderness, top grades like prime and choice and high average daily weight gain in feedlots.

 

A DNA analysis, using blood samples from beef cattle and based on similar technology that interprets the human genome, would help producers understand how quickly an animal would gain weight or develop tenderness in its meat before it is killed.

 

Such an analysis has been gaining popularity at a time when the USDA and animal-producing groups have been keen on a birth-to-slaughter identification system to reassure consumers of the origin and tracking of animal products they consume.

 

MMI has developed and patented a process to determine specific markers on an individual beef animal's DNA that would cause it to gain weight in feedlots more rapidly or have more tender meat, said DeNise at the Missouri Governor's Conference on Agriculture.

 

So, when a marker shows a particular steer or heifer would not gain rapidly, it could mean slaughtering it before another animal which gives a more positive response for becoming a high-value carcass.

 

The information would help producers to manage their breeding herds and cattle in feedlots more effectively, she said.

 

Such a DNA analysis could become commercially viable in a year or two, DeNise said adding the MMI had yet to set a price per animal for this process.

 

The process could particularly benefit Missouri beef producers, who boast of having the second-largest number of cows and calves in the country, after Texas.