Improved Genetics for Livestock

ARS scientists, using compete telomere-to-telomere (T2T) assemblies, have provided access to never before identified regions of food animal genomes, vastly increasing the ability to mine the genome for variation. T2T genomes in humans have revealed tens of thousands of incorrectly identified genetic markers which may have led to false associations of genes with disease phenotypes. ARS researchers lead the way in development of pangenome representations based on complete T2T assemblies, improving detection of genotype to phenotype associations and increasing the accuracy of genome-guided genetic selection for improved response to traits influencing animal health, welfare, production efficiency, and greenhouse gas emissions.