Agricultural News
Pfizer Animal Genetics Working With American Shorthorn Association on DNA Testing
Thu, 24 Feb 2011 9:35:58 CST
Pfizer Animal Genetics and the American Shorthorn Association (ASA) are pleased to announce an agreement giving Shorthorn breeders a choice for parentage validation and added convenience for their DNA testing needs.
"We wanted to offer our producers an additional option for DNA parentage verification," says Patrick Wall, director of genetic improvement, ASA. "With the help of Pfizer Animal Genetics, breeders can now get results for multiple tests from one sample and one location."
Scott Bormann, North American business director, Pfizer Animal Genetics, says this partnership will make it much easier for breeders to streamline their genomic testing needs with one provider.
"Producers can now conduct parentage, test for TH and PHA and gain GeneSTAR® Molecular Value Predictions (MVPs®), all from the same DNA sample," Bormann says.
GeneSTAR Molecular Value Predictions (MVP®s) utilize a targeted-marker panel to predict genetic potential for feed efficiency, marbling and tenderness. Plus, these MVPs are accompanied by percentile ranks derived from the database of animals tested with GeneSTAR and Pfizer Animal Genetics. Lower percentile rank values generally indicate preferred ranking and more favorable genetic merit. Breeders also can use the new GeneSTAR Palatability Index to rank animals according to described genomic merit for the combined traits of tenderness and marbling that impact tenderness, juiciness and flavor.
"MVPs can help beef producers make more informed decisions about young animals," Bormann says. "Plus, they provide producers additional means to complement existing genetic selection tools, helping them make decisions when other selection criteria are similar or when little information is available."
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