USU maps sheep genome
Since 1993 Utah State University agriculture researchers have been working with the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center and research firms from Australia, France and New Zealand to create a complete map of the sheep genome.
USU researchers are primarily working on Radiation Hybrid Panel technology that uses small busts of radiation to break down chromosome structures into individual chunks of DNA that can be isolated and then sequenced, and the sequencing procedure itself, said Noelle Cockett USU interim provost and deaon of the College of Agriculture. DNA sequencing involves finding the location of individuals genes in a chromosome, identifying the role the gene plays in the cellular metabolism of the organism, and then explicating the actual sequence of nucleotide bases that the gene is composed of.
Genes act as blue-prints for enzymes, molecular catalysts which direct all chemical reactions in a cell.
Researchers then isolate individual genes and place them into bacteria when are then stored and indexed into a BAC end sequence and made available to researchers all over the world who can then grow large large amounts of the genetic material for their own research, Cockett said.
Some problems researchers are likely to work on with the finished sheep genome map are ways to improve the amount and quality of wool grown by sheep, ways to decrease the fat content of lamb meat and ways to improve the animal’s resistance to parasites.
Cures for congenital genetic disorders, which impair the development of the organism will also be researched. Ways to improve the fertility and reproductive cycles of sheep will also be researched, Cockett said.
In the United States, where consumptions of lamb meat is low compared to pork, beef and chicken, trade organizations are keen to taylor their product to American sensibilities.
Funding for this research has come from the USDA and the USU. Similar genome mapping projects, such as a similar concsotium lead by the national center for biotechnology information to map the complete genome of the cow, have cost in excess of $50 million, Cockett said.
USU has received $ 1 million to create a BAC end Sequence of about 3 percent of the total or 2,000 genes and Cockett, is seeking another $5 million from the USDA to expand this aspect of the research.
Cockett hopes to have the 3 percent BAC end Sequence completed in two to three years and that the entire map to be done by 2010.