update
th e australian
wagyu
issue 45
APR 2010
The Australian Wagyu Update is produced by the Australian Wagyu Association Ltd. on behalf of the membership
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Wagyu features at food festival Coles stocks Wagyu products in premium range Beefing up business - Mayura Station BVDV and lotfeeding Wagyu Wagyu Certification Scheme - update
DATES for THE DIARY ■■ ■■
2010 AWA Conference - Sept Wagyu Update for 2010 Issue 46 - released Aug 2010 Issue 47 - released Dec 2010 Issue 48 - released Apr 2011 contact AWA Office for details
genetic conditions in wagyu Identifing genetic conditions or specific traits primarily in cattle - a challenge to be managed not feared.
story by
Ian Marsh and Francesca Galea Industry and Investment, NSW Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute (EMAI) Australia
The State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at the EMAI, Industry and Investment, NSW offers 25 diagnostic assays that provide a national and international service to identify genetic conditions or specific traits primarily in cattle but also in sheep and horses. These assays are all molecular based, meaning that they target specific deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) regions within the genes associated with the condition or trait in question. Results are achieved by discriminating between the normal gene and the mutant gene for each condition. EMAI has gained substantial expertise in developing diagnostic assays for a number of genetic conditions as well as introducing and optimising diagnostic assays for other genetic conditions that have been identified elsewhere and published in the scientific literature. Genetic conditions generally present as either autosomal dominant or autosomal recessive. Autosomal implying genetic or inherited, but not sex-linked; i.e. not associated with a sex chromosome (X or Y). If the condition is dominant,
progeny need only acquire a single copy of the mutant gene (from either parent) to present as clinically affected. With a recessive condition the progeny must inherit two copies of the mutant gene (one from each parent) to be clinically affected. Whilst affected animals must inherit a mutant gene from both parents, carrier animals need only inherit a mutant gene from one parent and a normal gene from the other. Carriers appear phenotypically (observable characteristics) normal and are indistinguishable from non-carriers unless genetic testing is performed. Examples of autosomal recessive conditions include generalised glycogenosis (Pompe’s Disease), a cellular storage condition in Brahman cattle and associated breeds and ovine dermatosparaxis, a connective tissue disorder in White Dorper sheep. EMAI offers diagnostic assays for both of these conditions and has developed a strong association with the Brahman and Dorper breed societies as they manage these conditions with the Australian animal population. Continued page 6