• Cattle losing adaptations to environment

    From ScienceDaily@1:317/3 to All on Thu Jul 22 21:30:40 2021
    Cattle losing adaptations to environment
    Researchers pave the way for genetic tests of cattle that can look for
    the presence of specific adaptations, such as heat resistance

    Date:
    July 22, 2021
    Source:
    University of Missouri-Columbia
    Summary:
    Researchers have uncovered evidence showing that cattle
    are losing important environmental adaptations, losses the
    researchers attribute to a lack of genetic information available
    to farmers. After examining genetic material stretching back to
    the 1960s, they identified specific DNA variations associated
    with adaptations that could one day be used to create DNA tests
    for cattle -- tests that could tell farmers whether their cattle
    are suited for one environment or another.



    FULL STORY ==========================================================================
    As a fourth-generation cattle farmer, Jared Decker knows that cattle
    suffer from health and productivity issues when they are taken from
    one environment - - which the herd has spent generations adapting to
    -- to a place with a different climate, a different elevation or even
    different grass. But as a researcher at the University of Missouri,
    Decker also sees an opportunity to use science to solve this problem,
    both to improve the welfare of cattle and to plug a leak in a nearly
    $50 billion industry in the U.S.


    ========================================================================== "When I joined MU in 2013, I moved cattle from a family farm in New
    Mexico to my farm here in Missouri," said Decker, an associate professor
    and Wurdack Chair in Animal Genetics at the College of Agriculture,
    Food and Natural Resources. "New Mexico is hot and dry, and Missouri is
    also hot but has much more humidity. The cattle certainly didn't do as
    well as they did in New Mexico, and that spurred me to think about how
    we could give farmers more information about what their animals need
    to thrive." In a new study published today in PLOS Genetics, Decker
    and his team have uncovered evidence showing that cattle are losing
    important environmental adaptations, losses the researchers attribute
    to a lack of genetic information available to farmers. After examining
    genetic material stretching back to the 1960s, they identified specific
    DNA variations associated with adaptations that could one day be used
    to create DNA tests for cattle -- tests that could tell farmers whether
    their cattle are suited for one environment or another.

    "We can see that, for example, historically cows in Colorado are likely to
    have adaptations that ease the stress on their hearts at high altitudes," Decker said. "But if you bring in bulls or semen from a different
    environment, the frequency of those beneficial adaptations is going
    to decrease. Over generations, that cow herd will lose advantages that
    would have been very useful to a farmer in Colorado." Decker's team,
    including then-doctoral student Troy Rowan, analyzed six decades worth
    of bovine DNA data from tests of cryo-preserved semen produced by cattle
    breed associations. They found that over time, while genes associated
    with higher productivity and fertility improved due to careful selection
    by farmers, many genes connected to environmental adaptations have faded.

    Decker noted this is not the fault of farmers, given that there is
    currently no cost-effective genetic test they can use to determine
    whether their cattle are suitable for a particular environment. In
    other words, the study demonstrates a need for user-friendly cattle
    DNA tests that can look for the specific adaptations identified in the
    study. These adaptations include resistance to vasoconstriction -- a
    narrowing of the blood vessels that occurs at high elevations and puts
    undue stress on the heart -- resistance to a toxin in grass that can
    also cause vasoconstriction, and tolerance for high heat or humidity,
    all of which tend to recede over generations when cattle are removed
    from the associated environments.

    "Sometimes, natural and artificial selection are moving in the same
    direction, and other times there is a tug of war between them," Decker
    said. "Efficiency and productivity have vastly improved in the last 60
    years, but environmental stressors are never going to go away. Farmers
    need to know more about the genetic makeup of their herd, not only for
    the short-term success of their farm, but for the success of future generations." The first broadly adopted genetic test for cattle was
    invented at the University of Missouri in 2007, and Decker and Rowan hope
    to tell the next chapter of that story. Both grew up on farms and share
    a passion for using research to help farmers balance America's farming traditions with the need for environmentally friendly business practices.

    "As a society, we must produce food more sustainably and be good
    environmental stewards," Decker said. "Making sure a cow's genetics
    match their environment makes life better for cattle and helps
    farmers run efficient and productive operations. It's a win-win." ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Missouri-Columbia. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


    ========================================================================== Journal Reference:
    1. Troy N. Rowan, Harly J. Durbin, Christopher M. Seabury, Robert D.

    Schnabel, Jared E. Decker. Powerful detection of polygenic selection
    and evidence of environmental adaptation in US beef cattle. PLOS
    Genetics, 2021; 17 (7): e1009652 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1009652 ==========================================================================

    Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/07/210722162957.htm

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