Functional and positional genomics in beef cattle : current programs and potential progress

Hocquette , Jean-François
        INRA
        , Saint-Genes-Champanelle .
         UR 1213 Unité de Recherches sur les Herbivores; Boichard , Didier
        INRA
         .
         1313 Génétique Animale et Biologie Intégrative; Cassar-Malek , Isabelle
        INRA
        , Saint-Genes-Champanelle .
         UR 1213 Unité de Recherches sur les Herbivores; Laville , Elisabeth
        INRA
        , Saint-Genes-Champanelle .
         UR 0370 Qualité des Produits Animaux; Renand , Gilles
        INRA
         .
         1313 Génétique Animale et Biologie Intégrative; Levéziel , Hubert
        INRA
        , Limoges .
         UMR 1061 Génétique Moléculaire Animale; Picard , Brigitte
        INRA
        , Saint-Genes-Champanelle .
         UR 1213 Unité de Recherches sur les Herbivores

Functional and positional genomics in beef cattle : current programs and potential progress

2008

Hocquette , Jean-François (INRA , Saint-Genes-Champanelle (France). UR 1213 Unité de Recherches sur les Herbivores) | Boichard , Didier (INRA (France). 1313 Génétique Animale et Biologie Intégrative) | Cassar-Malek , Isabelle (INRA , Saint-Genes-Champanelle (France). UR 1213 Unité de Recherches sur les Herbivores) | Laville , Elisabeth (INRA , Saint-Genes-Champanelle (France). UR 0370 Qualité des Produits Animaux) | Renand , Gilles (INRA (France). 1313 Génétique Animale et Biologie Intégrative) | Levéziel , Hubert (INRA , Limoges (France). UMR 1061 Génétique Moléculaire Animale) | Picard , Brigitte (INRA , Saint-Genes-Champanelle (France). UR 1213 Unité de Recherches sur les Herbivores)

Genomics has brought with it a true biological revolution and has a great number of potential applications in all areas of life sciences. Thanks to the simultaneous analysis of vast numbers of genes, proteins and metabolites, genomics opens up new perspectives for a host of research programs in the genetic and physiological control of beef quality especially tenderness. Indeed, tenderness is a complex trait which depends on interplay between a great number of interacting genes associated with connective tissue, the contractile and metabolic characteristics of muscle fibres as well as proteolysis during aging. The completed bovine genome sequence and the availability of high-throughput genotyping chips help the discovery of genetic markers for beef quality and the development of marker-assisted selection and of "genomic selection". Meanwhile, transcriptomics and proteomics have favoured the study of muscle development and of muscle hypertrophy as well as the discovery of new biological markers of beef quality. The development of metabolomics is in progress. Thanks to the development of genomics, the new challenge is now to develop high-throughput pheno-typing as well as modelling approaches to better predict beef quality from the different genomic markers so far identified.

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