Page 29 - University of Pretoria Research Review 2017

Foreword
Introductory Messages
DEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE
Land and Agriculture
Driving genetic improvement in South African livestock
Esté van Marle-Köster, Animal and Wildlife Sciences
Developments in molecular technology have opened new ways for livestock breeders to study the genetics of farm animals and, consequently, to practise more effective selection for traits which are of economic importance. In addition, the mapping and completion of farm animal reference genomes have led to SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) marker discoveries, and the development of high throughput technologies has opened up new possibilities for genomic research in livestock.
The Department of Animal and Wildlife Sciences
was the first Animal Science department at a South African university to establish livestock genomics of farm animals as a research focus. In 2012, Professor Esté van Marle-Köster organised the first workshop on genomics for SA livestock at the University of Pretoria. This resulted in the establishment of a task team for livestock genomics in South Africa which, in turn, was the start of the Beef Genomic Programme (BGP) and the Dairy Genomic Programme (DGP), both funded by the national Technology Innovation Agency (TIA). Professor van Marle-Köster is the project coordinator of the industry-driven DGP, which involves researchers at UP and the Universities of Stellenbosch, Fort Hare and the Free State.
The overall aim of the two programmes is to establish routine genotyping for genomic selection in cattle. The indigenous cattle breeds in South Africa contribute significantly to livestock production and food security
at a number of levels. Sanga breeds – such as the Drakensberger, Nguni and the composite South African Bonsmara – are unique genetic resources and therefore part of the genomic research focus of the Department. In the Animal Breeding and Genetics research group,
postgraduate student projects have focused on population structure and genomic parameters in South African Hereford, Boran and dairy breeds, using genotypes from the BGP and DGP. In 2017, results
from PhD projects were presented at national and international congresses, including the focus
on imputation methodology in Drakensberger cattle, and the validation of the polled (Celtic) gene in Sanga breeds.
The first transcriptomic project on Nguni cattle has been completed, with promising results for further studies in nutrigenomics to improve production efficiency. In 2017, research findings on the population structure of the South African Bonsmara beef breed were published in Livestock Science. The influence
of population structure on the compilation of the Bonsmara genomic reference population was published in Advances in Animal BioSciences, along with studies of the genetic variability in South African and Namibian beef cattle breeds.
PEOPLE AND CONTEXTS
HEALTH AND WELL-BEING
PLANET AND SUSTAINABILITY
Awards
Lead Researchers
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Genomics is not only a tool for breeding selection but can be used to gain insight into the adaptive mechanisms, disease tolerance and unique traits of livestock resources in South Africa.
Bonsmara cattle, a South African breed
AgriEco