Researchers at the Centre for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics, Department for Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, have located DNA variants that can lead to better udder health and animal welfare for dairy cattle.
Through decades, researchers have been able to increase milk production in cows by intense genetic selection. However, this has resulted in a reversal of the fertility of the cows. This has led the researchers to find an optimum solution.
Genetic mutations are responsible for a substantial yearly-economic loss in the dairy industry. Mapping of such variants is essential for effective breeding planning and performance improvement.
Research from Aarhus University and SEGES shows that the genealogical tree has great impact on the quality of the cow's milk. This provides new opportunities for producing milk with specific properties.
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The routine breeding value assessment for reproductive performance in Denmark and Sweden may be improved by means of activity-based fertility traits. This is demonstrated by results from a recently finished PhD project. In addition, it has been demonstrated that the genetic variation in reproductive performance changes in relation to calving season and production environment.
When you select for confident mink in the breeding programme, you also get a better fur quality according to a study from Aarhus University. The study also shows that behaviour has a higher heritability than previously though.
The cattle genome has now been mapped to a hitherto unknown degree of detail. This constitutes a quantum leap for research into the history and genetics of cattle..
Scientists have discovered a mutation with a built-in dilemma for dairy cattle breeders. The deleted gene sequence has a positive effect on milk yield but causes embryonic death in dairy cattle.
The Danish Landrace 1970 – also known as the ‘Bacon Pig’ – has received a genetic boost. By using frozen semen, “old” genes have successfully been re-introduced to the breed. This has huge impact on the preservation of the breed.
Genetics research at Aarhus University can lead to breeding objectives in pig production that also focus on welfare. A drop in piglet mortality has already been achieved.
For the past five years new genetic technology has created a revolution in Danish agriculture. Productivity has increased, cows have become healthier, and the technology can be spread to help produce more climate-friendly food for the world’s increasing population.
Professor emeritus at QGG, Poul Sørensen, explains to the Danish science dissemination site, Videnskab.dk, why there is a difference between brown and white eggs.
We must use our planet’s resources better if we are to provide food enough for everyone in the future. One of the options is to use plant breeding to achieve higher crop yields. We must also reduce food waste and apply brakes to population growth if we are to ensure sustainable food security. AU scientists are ready to supply much of the knowledge that is needed.
PhD student Hadi Esfandyari received the award for best poster in animal genetics at 64th Annual Meeting of EAAP of the European Association of Animal Science.
A new report describes the work on preserving the genetic resources of Danish livestock.
A new research project will be studying the genetic basis of why individuals with the same diagnosis respond differently to the same medicine. The research results can contribute to personalised medicine in the future, based on our unique genetic profile. Medicine with more effect and less side effects.
The PorganiX project will create the first, organic, core livestock of young sows, genetically selected for organic breeding goals, to produce more robust, organic pigs. The outcome of the pioneer project will be an overall lift of the organic, pig producing sector, in Denmark and internationally.
At a grand event on Friday, 26 January, the Innovation Fund Denmark awarded several top scientists for their outstanding results. The most prestigious prize was awarded to researchers from QGG for their research on cows' emission of methane and the breeding of more climate friendly cows.
The ST Industrial Collaboration Award 2017 goes to Professor Mogens Sandø Lund, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, for his long-standing efforts and considerable influence on business collaboration regarding refinement and breeding in Denmark.
Researchers from Center for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics at the Department for Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University in Foulum, are participating in the GenTORE project, launched in Paris 22–23 June 2017.
The Danish Dairy Board has awarded the prize to researchers at the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics and the Department of Food Science for their basic research into the correlation between cow genetics and milk composition and quality.
The best properties from three well-known grasses will be united in new grass varieties. With significantly enhanced performance and high robustness, such grasses will pave the way for Danish export of new varieties that are prepared for future climate and the demand for more biomass.
With the use of genomic selection, Danish researchers will target their breeding of rainbow trout towards adaptations to different production environments worldwide. This could pave the way for an even larger export of eggs from rainbow trout.
A research team is working on optimising grass species that will reduce cow burps, thus reducing greenhouse gas emissions – in addition to increasing cow milk production.
Burps, behaviour, blood and milk are some of the traits that can give us an indication of how efficient and eco-friendly a cow is. Scientists at Aarhus University are developing tools that can identify the most cost-effective cows. This will benefit the farmer’s economy and the environment.
Information about pigs' pen mates, advanced statistical models and genomic methods are some of the tools that researchers will use in a research project that aims to improve pig welfare and reduce their environmental impact.
A new project is set to benefit organic dairy production, partly by developing breeds of cows that are better suited to organic production and partly by creating niche dairy products based on knowledge of the cows' breeding characteristics.
Genomic selection has revolutionised livestock breeding in Denmark. Now scientists from AU are on the brink of being able to apply detailed analyses of the genome to plant breeding. This is an important step towards ensuring a sustainable food supply for the 8 billion people who will inhabit the planet in the future.
Scientists are developing deep-rooted crops for better uptake of water and nutrients. This will make the plants more robust and better able to cope with the expected effects of climate change on the weather and will ensure better growth and higher yields.
New genetic technologies have revolutionised animal breeding. Now the same technologies and models can be used to better Danish malting barley.
The relatively small population sizes of the dairy breeds Jersey and Nordic Red Cattle in the Nordic countries pose challenges in using genomic selection to increase genetic progress. A new scientific project aims at improving the methodology using in genomic prediction. Animal health, welfare and production will benefit.
Emissions of harmful methane from cows are to be reduced but with no concurrent loss of milk quantity or quality. Scientists from Aarhus University are exploring the links between milk quality and composition and the genetics and methane emissions of cows.
By selectively breeding not only cows, but also their rumen bacteria, researchers intend to reduce the release of the greenhouse gas methane, while also increasing the effectiveness of the cow's milk and meat production.
A research centre in genomic selection is to provide new tools for use in modern breeding of plants and animals.
