“At some point there won't be any reason to buy or mate cattle without knowing the DNA in an animal, and the interaction between that DNA and the specific environment and management that will impact it,” says Calvin Gunter, director of corporate development for Bovigen, LLC, a genomics company.

That's the promise of DNA-based diagnostic tools, especially when it comes to the economically important traits toughest to measure, such as fertility, disease resistance and feed efficiency. In fact, this promise and more is behind the recently completed, $53-million Bovine Genome Sequencing Project (BGSP) begun three years ago. Sequencing is determining the exact order of the nucleotide base pairs in a strand of DNA (see “Basic Genomics,” p. 19).

The notion behind the international collaborative BGSP is to provide a publicly accessible foundation of information by which DNA-based tools and understanding can be developed to help the cattle industry achieve more efficiency through increased performance, decreased morbidity and mortality, a better understanding of how to transmit favorable genes, and more.

Via the quickly blooming field of comparative genomics, completion of the bovine genome sequence also provides human genome researchers more insight into that sequence, which was completed in 2003.

However, the pace toward fulfilling DNA-based promise in the cattle industry has disappointed more than one beef producer. Sure, you can use DNA to identify which calves were sired by which bull in a multiple-sire pasture. You also can measure which specific alleles an animal possesses for color and polledness. More recently, you can even begin to get a handle on some of the genes that contribute to carcass tenderness and Quality Grade.

While each of these can serve up substantial value, many producers are anxious for tests describing the input side of the equation, such as cycling early, breeding efficiently, successfully calving and breeding back. What about data indicating how efficiently one animal converts feed to gain compared to another? What about DNA related to actual profitability?

Chances are, by the time you read this, the first tests for some of these trait areas will have been introduced.

Welcome to the evolution

Fact is, technology is finally catching up with the promise of DNA diagnostics.

“What has occurred is enabling technology,” says Stewart Bauck, executive director of strategic development for Igenity^®, the Merial-owned DNA diagnostics organization. Without wading too far into genomics' intellectual waters, which gets scary fast, Bauck explains the crux: Researchers and scientists have developed tools and infrastructure that enable them to obtain more DNA-based information faster and cheaper than before, while increasing accuracy.

Among these, he cites the advanced use of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs — pronounced “snips”) for genotyping. In simplest terms, a SNP is a variation in the sequence of a single base pair of nucleotides at a particular gene or location within the gene. Knowing that a particular gene or particular DNA sequence exists at a specific location in an animal's genome is the basis of DNA-diagnostic tests.

“Much of the genetic variation is encoded in SNPs. We can measure them as if they're a single pair of genes; it's an easier and cheaper way to measure,” Bauck says. “Three or four years ago, a single SNP test cost $60-$70. Today, you can get results from Igenity for 8-10 traits for $35. It's rapidly entering the realm where everyone can use it.”

Of course, history also is catching up with the technology. As Gunter points out, there's more value to DNA-based knowledge than in the past, and likely more to come. Using parentage as an example, he explains, “Knowing the parentage of the animal didn't have as much value a few years ago as it does today. In the last 10 years, the value equation for knowing parentage has increased with the use of individual animal ID and the widespread availability of marketing alliances.”

Those first DNA-based parentage tests were introduced by a company since acquired by MMI Genomics, Inc. Tom Holm, MMI manager of business development, explains, “Producers' initial interest in the technology was driven by a desire to manage cattle in multi-sire breeding programs, yet be able to correctly ascertain individual sire identity and progeny parentage for the benefit of accurate genetic evaluations.”

Holm says subsequent uptake of trait-specific, DNA-based diagnostic tests has been driven by two primary factors: to increase the speed and accuracy of selection decisions for economically important traits, and develop selection tools for traits such as tenderness, which are difficult to measure using routine genetic evaluation techniques. Producers also discovered they could increase the market value of their genetics with DNA-based testing results.

USDA's recent acceptance of instrument-grading for quality and yield, and the development of similar instruments to objectively measure tenderness, likely point to increased value for the ability to identify and manage these traits more specifically.