SPRING 2011

DNA Technology for Seedstock Producers We are in the midst of the most exciting time in beef genetics since development of EPD 30 years ago. Information directly from DNA has long held potential to revo-lutionize cattle breeding, but only recently incorporated to influence selection deci-sions on a large scale. To understand the contribution of genomics information, understand that ani-

mal data (birth weight, marbling score, scrotal circumference, etc.) is made of two main com-ponents: genotype and environment (Figure 1). Some of what makes an animal good or bad for a given trait is due to genetics and some is due to environment. The environmental portion is not passed on, so our goal is to determine how much of an animal’s ‘goodness’ or ‘badness’ for a trait is due to genotype. As breeders, we really only care about the silver part of the chart in Figure 1. Unfortunately, we can never know an animal’s exact genotype. We estimate based on all the data available. The EPD is our best estimate of genotype, based on performance data collected on the animal itself, as well as on pedigree and progeny. The accuracy of the EPD is determined by the amount and type of data available. If there are hundreds of progeny records on a bull, his EPD will be highly accurate. In other words, we are confident that his EPD

High accuracy EPD is the gold standard predictor of genetic merit. There is no better way to know what progeny a bull will produce.

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is very close to his actual genetic merit. If there is less information available on a bull, the EPD is still our best estimate of his genetic merit, but we are less confident that it is very close to actual genet-ic merit. That is reflected in a lower accuracy value. High accuracy EPD is the gold standard predictor of genetic merit. There is no better way to know what progeny a bull will produce. The biggest limitation to getting high accuracy EPD is number of progeny needed. Depending on trait, this can be costly. If you have

scales, cost of collecting birth or wean-ing weights may be negligible. However, some data (carcass, ultrasound, feed intake) is very expensive. From a genetic improvement stand-point, time lag is also costly. It takes many years to get high accuracy EPD, slowing the rate of genetic improve-

ment. The billion dollar question of developing DNA technology is: Can we bypass the time and expense of collecting a lot of data and go directly to the DNA to learn about genetic merit? Early efforts to use DNA in beef cattle selection involved tests for one or two genes. The amount of genetic variation explained by the gene test is represented by the red circle in Figure 1. The first generation of genetic tests explained very little of an animal’s genetic merit for the trait. Whether an animal had the correct gen-otype for a trait as determined by the gene test had very little to do with his overall genetic merit for that trait (which is predicted

Our PassionYOUR SUCCESS

by Jennifer Minick Bormann, Ph.D., Kansas State University

Continued on page 2

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by the EPD). This led to a con-fusing situation where bulls had gene test results as well as EPD. Over the past 15 years, sci-entists identified thousands of single nucleotide polymor-phisms (SNPs) in the bovine genome. These are places in the DNA that are different between animals. Some of these SNPs are in genes and cause differences in traits we care about. Many are in parts of the genome that have no function, but may be close to genes that have impor-tant effects. High density SNP chips can test for tens of thou-sands of SNPs at one time. The bovine SNP chip tests for over 50,000 SNPs. By comparing animals’ geno-types at the SNPs with their phenotypes or EPD for impor-tant traits, we can determine

which SNPs are related to which traits, and how much variation they control. Future animals can be genotyped for the important SNPs (usually not all 50,000) and equations developed from previous data can predict those animals’ genetic merit. Figuring out relationships between SNPs and traits and then developing equations takes very large data sets of animals that have both genotypes on the chip and phenotypes or high accuracy breeding values. Both Igenity and Pfizer offer tests that use panels of SNPs to predict an animal’s genomic or molecular breeding value. Igenity calls this value the Profile, and Pfizer uses Molecular Value Prediction.

These panels only predict part of an animal’s genetic merit. Depending on panel and trait, molecular breeding values explain five to 35 percent of the genetic variation. Figure 2 shows the current scenario, where some genomic

tests predict more than one-third of genetic variation in Angus cattle. Remember, EPD predicts 100 percent of genetic variation, with vari-able accuracy. Marker panels resulting in molecular breeding values represent large improve-ment over single gene tests as shown in Figures 1 and 2. Until recently though, some animals still had both EPD and molecular values. The academic commu-nity agrees the best use of genomic information incorporates it into existing national genetic evaluation.

Statistical methodology to do so developed in the past 3-4 years. In 2009, the American Angus Association incorporated Igenity Profile results into its carcass evaluation. They since added

Profile information to evalua-tions of growth traits, docility, and residual average daily gain, including Pfizer data into car-cass and residual average daily gain evaluations. This is a huge milestone, because all available informa-tion on an animal (pedigree, own records, sibs, progeny, genomics) is used to get the most accurate EPD. The DNA panels and equations to incor-porate the results into genetic evaluation are breed-dependent and need to be developed within breeds. Large numbers of animals with DNA informa-tion and phenotypes or high accuracy EPD are needed. At this point, no other breeds have genomic information incorpo-rated into their genetic evalu-ations, but many other breeds are working towards that goal. So what is the value of add-ing the molecular information into the EPD? Simple accuracy. DNA can be sampled on the day a calf is born, adding infor-mation into its EPD without waiting for its own or progeny records. Dr. Sally Northcutt,

High density bovine SNP chips can test for over 50,000 SNPs at one time. Animals can be genotyped for the important SNPs, and equations can predict those animals genetic merit... This is a huge milestone, because all available information on an animal is used to get the most accuate EPD.

DNA Technology for Seedstock Producers

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Continued from cover

Figure 1: The red dot represents the amount of genomic information explained by early gene tests available to beef producers.

Figure 2: The red dot represents the amount of genomic information explained by modern gene tests available to beef producers.

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DNA Technology for Seedstock Producers

One note of caution: Early proponents of DNA technol-ogy predicted that soon we would be able to collect a blood sample on every calf and never have to record another piece of data. We are a very long way from that. Continuing to col-lect performance data on as many animals as possible will allow better panels to be devel-oped and will help to improve the equations used to predict molecular breeding values. More importantly, we still need performance data and pedigrees to predict that part of genetic merit not accounted for by the genomic test: the purple area not covered by red in Figure 2. Tremendous strides in DNA technology in the beef industry have been made in the last five years. Along with performance data, DNA test results are one more piece of information that contributes to our understand-ing of an animal’s genetic merit. By utilizing DNA testing, pro-ducers are able to make selec-tion decisions on young animals with more confidence than ever before, increasing genetic improvement in their herd.

director of genetic research for the American Angus Association, provided examples at the 2010 Beef Improvement Federation annual meeting: For an Angus calf with no ultrasound record, parental average EPD has a default accuracy of 0.05. By adding that calf ’s genomic information to the carcass trait evaluation, accuracy of the EPD increases to 0.28-0.38 depend-ing on trait. A cow with ultra-sound data and 11 ultrasound scanned progeny has a marbling EPD accuracy 0.25. By adding genomic information, accuracy increases to 0.37. A common misconception is that EPD goes up by adding genomic information. Think of genomic testing like adding any new piece of information. If you have a group of calves with similar parent average EPD, you expect those EPD to change when you record their own performance and include that infor-mation into their EPD. On average, half the calves’ EPD will go up and half will go down. If you progeny test a group of bulls, the same thing happens. About half the bulls turn out better than their non-parent EPD predicted, and about half are worse. However, accuracy always goes up when information is added. If genomic results are incor-porated into genetic evalu-ation, the actual test results should be ignored in favor of selecting on the EPD. It’s just like using actual weights. If a weight is included in the EPD

calculation, ignore the actual weight and use the EPD. The genomic information is part of the EPD and shouldn’t be counted twice. There are ways many to use genomics. Some people test all sale bulls prior to sale season. This increases accuracy on all bulls and gives commercial cus-tomers more confidence in the young bulls they buy. However, producers that test sale bulls must remember that half the time, EPD will go up and half will go down. Some bulls may go down enough to be worth less at sale time. However, some will move up and there is always a chance of identifying the next potential star! Another intriguing possibility is testing replacement heifers. Traditionally, very little genetic progress is made through

heifer selec-tion, partly because of low accuracy of selection. However, with genom-ic testing of heifers,

accuracy can increase and rate of genetic progress improve. As with bulls, potential donors may be identified earlier, allowing more progeny over a female’s lifetime. Genomic testing is not helpful for already high accu-racy animals. A high accuracy (progeny-proven) EPD is the gold standard. Adding genomic test data doesn’t provide any more information about the ani-mal’s genetic merit. However, if your breed is working to devel-op genomically-enhanced EPD, testing of high accuracy sires can be helpful in this process.

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If genomic results are incorporated into genetic evaluation, the actual test results should be ignored in favor of selecting on the EPD.

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Point 1: Available traits that include genomic results Not all the National Cattle Evaluation (NCE) traits include genomic results at this time. At the American Angus Associa-tion, we incorporate the genomic results into the trait evalua-tion when the research is completed and trait relationships to the genomic results are established. Figure 1 summarizes the traits impacted by genomic results. Both company genomic results, Igenity Profile for Angus, and Pfizer HD 50K for Angus, are included into the calculations for growth, residual average daily gain (RADG), and carcass traits. Docility includes only Igenity results. Calving ease EPDs do not currently include genomic results, but a genomic-enhanced release is planned for this spring.POINT 2: CORRELATION BETWEEN GENOMIC RESULTS AND TRAIT Through Association research, we take the genomic results received from the companies initially and compute a genetic

relationship between the genomic result and the phenotypic data at the Association. Typically there are two measures used to report the relationship of a genomic test and phenotype, genetic correlation or percent of additive genetic variance accounted for by the test. We typically report the genetic cor-relation to illustrate this relationship. These two measures are related and can be transformed equally. The genetic correla-tion is the square root of the percent additive genetic variance and, conversely, the percent additive genetic variance is the squared value of the genetic correlation. For example, if the genetic correlation between the genomic result and the phenotypic measure is .60, then the genomic result explains 36% of the additive genetic variance. Simply stated, the more genetic variance a test explains, the more im-pact it will have on your EPDs and accuracies for that trait. Figure 2 presents the genetic correlations by trait associated with calculating the Association’s genomic-enhanced EPDs. From a practical standpoint, the companies are similar for

many of the traits. Angus breeders must con-sider these relationships and then make the best choice for their breeding programs and traits of interest.

ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONSEPDs -Profile Scores – Percentile Ranks Table 1 describes by trait the Igenity profile score and Pfizer percentile rank systems to assist in establishing direction of interest for each trait. The Igenity Profile for Angus scores are presented as a 1-to-10 scale. The scores reflect the animal’s genetic potential for that particular trait based on the combination

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Genomic Choicesby Sally L. Northcutt, American Angus Association and Angus Genetics, Inc.The most frequently asked question on the subject of genomics and EPDs, is “Which test do I pick?” Breeders hate the answer “It depends,” but at the moment that’s all we can say. Below are points to consider in your decision-making. Ultimately you will still use EPDs to make the most informed selection decisions among animals. EPDs should be considered the genetic improvement tool of choice, since EPDs account for all available information on an animal, such as individual measures, progeny data, pedigree and genomic results. The details below will help you gauge the areas where genomics are having the most impact by trait.

Figure 1: Weekly evaluation traits with genomic data

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of the DNA markers analyzed. The higher scores do not necessarily indicate that it is the most desirable, as illustrated in Table 1.For the Pfizer HD 50K for Angus percentile rankings, a lower value indicates a more favorable ranking for the trait. Percentile ranking format, ranging from 1% to 100% in integer increments, is similar to that used in EPD percentile rankings. For example, a smaller numeric percentile ranking for Pfizer result in birth weight and carcass fat indicates lighter calves and leaner carcasses as the expectation. If you are making selection decisions for traits that have an EPD provided by the Association, then the EPDs should be considered the selection tool of choice. The EPD and accuracy account for all sources of information available on the animal of interest (e.g., pedigree, own record, weights/measures, genomic results). Using EPD and genomic scores separately leads to double counting information and will lessen selection efficiency.

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES Genomic results are used as indicator traits in the evaluations to compute EPDs. Genomics do not completely describe the variation in the traits of interest. Breeders sometimes ask if it is no longer necessary to collect weights and measures (e.g., weaning weights, scan data, carcass measures). On the contrary, phenotypic measures collected by Angus breeders continue to be an important part in further development of improved genomic panels and the refinement of this technology over time.

CONCLUSION Angus breeders must consider the avail-able genomic options and then make the best choice for their breeding programs to impact traits of interest. Genomic results are a way to enhance the current selection tools, to achieve more accuracy on predictions for

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Table 1. Setting direction for Igenity Profile Score and Pfizer Percentile Rank

younger animals, and to characterize genetics for traits where it’s difficult to measure the phenotype.Through the evolution of these technologies, we plan to keep breeders advised of progress in the development of genomic EPDs. These updates, when available, will be provided on www.angus.org.

Figure 2. Genetic correlations for NCE traits by company

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ments: ‘I have nothing but good to say about the Answer 71 daughters. The ones we have are moderate framed, have a deep flank, and nice udders. They have a really soft, “cowy” look about them. Their dispositions are good, and they’re excellent moms.”After the Connealy sale, every-

one is talking about 7AN302 Mentor. Other bull studs have recently purchased sons and several good cowboys thought Mentor presented the most impressive sire group at Connealy’s. He is going to be a big player at Select Sires for years to come. We are just now seeing what he can do--and he does lots of things right! He will power up cattle and contribute great disposi-tion and impressive perfor-mance—Mentor ranks in the top 5% for WW, YW, and RE. Big-time breeders are going to use him to generate sound, big-bodied cattle that look good and perform.

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BULLetin Board

7AN303 New Day 454 is becoming a dominating sire for a long list of quality traits that he offers. A great performance bull, 454 ranks in the top 10% for WW and the top 5% of the breed for YW, $W, $F and $G. In many ways, he may be the model carcass bull with rankings for MARB and RE both being in the top 2% along with top 2% $B. This bull is exceptionally sound and moves on perfect feet with a blend of muscle and structure that will make Angus breeders proud. As an added benefit, everyone appreciates that he ranks in the top 1% for an increasingly important trait, Docility.

7AN299 Answer 71 quickly rises to the top as a great choice for heifer programs. He will see lots of action from coast to coast with herds that breed hundreds of females, (commercial and purebred) at a time. Jerry Connealy calved his first daughters and com-

7AN255 New Design 5050 continues to impress cattle-men for his proven genetic predictions for production, carcass merit, and his bonus of Docility. 5050 ranks in the top 5% for all $Values while siring easily-born, fast-growing calves. We now have 4 impressive sons of 5050 in our program, including 7AN291 Symmetry, 7AN333 Rito 954, 7AN335 Hemisphere and 7AN341 Ingenuity, the record-high selling bull from the 2011 GAR Sale.

If you like 5050 for his facts and figures and would like to inject more power, we strongly recommend 7AN335 Connealy Hemisphere. He is a wide-body with visible muscle expression and as docile as they come. If you are a fan of power cattle, Hemisphere offers tremendous potential to help you make more.

7AN320 Prophet emerged as a young sire with incredible promise. His early proof indi-

cates exceptional projections for calving ease with high growth and his calves exhibit the same attractiveness that his sire, Bextor, is so well-known for.

The 7AN321 44 Changeup offspring we have seen this Spring are among our favor-ites. The muscle shape, addi-tional rib and width of base he transmits is impressive. He offers WW and YW bragging points with high genomic pre-dictions for growth.

7AN340 Summit is noted as an outstanding calving ease prospect. Here are comments from Beef Specialist Shane Talkington of North Dakota. “If you are looking for a calv-ing ease bull with a little different pedigree, Summit is very promising. I just fin-ished calving 60 AI-bred 2 year olds at home including Summit calves and BAR EXT calves… The Summit and BAR EXT calves both averaged 73 pounds across the board for both sexes. I think if he calves as easy as BAR EXT

S Summit 956 from is an exciting Game Day son built to perform. Complete from end to end..

One of the best phenotype bulls in the breed, 44 Changeup will add power and growth to your calves.

GAR Prophet 6128 is the best Bextor son EVER produced at Gardiner Angus. Prophet is a performance machine, ranking in the top 1% for WW & $W, the top 2% for CED, YW, and $F, and the Top 3% for Milk and $B!

GAR New Design 5050 writes EPDs like no other bull in the breed. He’s a consistent standout for calving ease and carcass traits. Every $Value is in the Top 10%.

Connealy Answer 71 is a true crowd favorite. He’ll moderate cows, while adding rib, fleshing ability. He’s a Cowmaker if ever one there was. Super calving ease bull with polenty of growth in his calves.

Connealy Mentor is one of our favorites. POWERFUL bull with impressive progeny across the country.

B/R New Day 454. One of our top sellers in 2010, every $Value index EPD ranks in the Top 10% for the breed! These calves stand out.

Connealy Hemisphere is a standout sire in our Angus battery. A powerful son of 5050, he’ll add power.

www.SelectSiresBeef.com

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7CA10 Park Place is a clean full brother to Monopoly, the hottest club calf bull on the market. With Monopoly at over $100 per straw, why not go for an affordable option that gets cows bred…Park Place semen exclusively from Select Sires. Early reports indicate big hipped, hairy, attractive-patterned calves with final drive potential! Plus, the bottom side of his pedigree excites folks about his future daughters.

NEWLY RELEASED--- With the success of our Shorthorn bull 7AN32 Capiche, we’ve added 7AN33 Gauge, another to offer commercial cattlemen a British-based sire that will provide what many desire--Maternal Heterosis. This red, polled, soggy-middled bull is one we expect to deliver maternal excellence. He is an outcross to most of today’s Shorthorn cattle, and plan on seeing commercial cow/calf operations use him to add body mass, fertility, and docil-ity in a solid-colored, mater-nal package.

Another very popular SM bull is 7SM63 Double Down. On the hoof he is as good as any, and on paper he sure doesn’t disappoint. But under his hide, this guy sets the world on fire! He has a +.67 EPD for Marbling--absolutely unheard of in the Simmental world! Double Down was the most highly sought-after young SM bull of 2010, and we were fortunate to acquire this genetic gem.

7SM62 Easy Money is an attractive, low BW Simmental bull that is an excellent out-cross to the Legacy lines. He ranks in the top 2% for BW, MARB, and TI, capturing CE, Growth and Carcass Merit in a medium-sized frame.

7HP105 Durango continues to add moderate, thick, attrac-tive calves to his resume. His pedigree is full of great, influ-ential cattle. With all of the power that he transmits, he still keeps an impressive CED that ranks him in the top 1% of the breed and a BW that sits in the top 5%.

TJ Easy Money 101W captures CE, Growth and Carcass Merit in a medium-size frame. He’s a looker.

we would all take that. They were born in less than ideal conditions and showed plenty of vigor, we didn’t touch a one. They also seem to be fill-ing out fast. I talked to Justin Spickler, the breeder of the bull, and they had the same report. They used him on quite a few heifers and didn’t have any calving difficulties at all.”

7AN313 Twenty/Twenty offers great potential as a calving ease specialist, ranking in the top 2% for both CED and CEM. He is certainly one of the top In Focus sons, gen-erating highly-marketable, square-made progeny that have visible shape and dimen-sion. He has an excellent Birth to Yearling spread on his EPD profile. He was our top selling young sire in 2010, and we are seeing even more demand in early 2011.

Another In Focus son posting incredible early projections is 7AN311 Limelight, a new barn favorite. Ranking in top 15% for nearly every Production and Carcass trait, this bull is in high demand. Rarely will you find an individual that ranks in the top 1% of the entire Angus population for CED, CW, and $B. We project him to be a big player for per-formance improvement while being an exceptional choice for low birth weight.

A Simmental bull turning heads is 7SM54 Stetson. He is #2 in the SM breed for CE (just behind 7SM49 Jump Start, who is #1). Stetson sires phenotypically-attractive cattle that display excellent muscle expression and he ranks in the top 1% for API and TI. He is a model bull for our Select Sires brand prom-ise of Calving Ease, Carcass, and Cows.

7SM64 Wrangler is becom-ing known for the stout bulls and powerful females that he sires. An impressive individual in the flesh, Wrangler is big-hipped, big-footed and impec-cable in his bone structure. When it comes to Calving Ease, Carcass and Cows, one should seriously consider the outcross pedigree Wrangler offers.

Mill Brae Twenty/Twenty 8069 was the top selling Young Sire of 2010. An In Focus son with a great phenotype.

The #2 bull in the breed for CE with -4.3 BW, RCR Stetson T17 is exteremely impressive: in the top 1% for both API and TI. Sires attractive, balanced, moderate calves.

RCR Wrangler S215 sires stout bulls and powerhouse females: Backed by an outstanding cow family, Wrangler excels for soundness. Marked 117 for IMF and 103 for RE.

NJW 98S Durango 44U is a sound-made, wide-bodied cow maker. He’s a great choice for modern, thick, high producing cattle with low BW.

A CLEAN full sib to the wildly popular club calf sire Monopoly, STF Park Place adds major power, hip, top and bone in a super stylish package. Did we mention CLEAN?

JSF Gauge 137W is the newest Shorthorn cowmaker at Select Sires. Look for outstanding cross-breeding opportunities with this sire.

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Double Down is one of the most powerful Simmental bulls available, adding tremendous carcass value.

www.SelectSiresBeef.com

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Good data makes good deci-sion making possible. Know-ing how your calves, their sires and your cows perform could mean the difference between peril and profitability. As a service to our custom-ers, earlier this spring Select Sires announced a strategic partnership with The Beef Connection, an integrated information and marketing management organization. “Select Sires’ beef program made large strides in recent years to enhance our offer-ings,” said Brian House, vice president and beef program manager. “By partnering with The Beef Connection, we are pleased to add additional marketing value to our diverse genetic offerings.”

By combining solid data analysis with sound nutrition, superior genetics, and market-ing opportunities, customers will earn higher value premi-ums for heifers and feeder calves, and greater return on investment to the cowherd. “One of the cornerstones of our process of improv-ing return on investment for produc-ers is the use of exceptional genetics to build high performing herds,” said Robert Sands, CEO of The Beef Connection. “Elite Producer members who use Select Sires’ superior genet-ics and follow our nutritional

protocols will develop high performance heifers and feeder calves.” This strategic partnership led to a refined, proven, multi-year program to build and strengthen customers’ herds. The program revolves around

superior sire selection and data-driven cull choices. In year one, members will establish a baseline for

herd evaluation by gauging contemporary cows mated with a strategically chosen Select Sires bull. This also pro-vides the opportunity to select superior A.I.-sired replace-ment heifers.

In year two, members will select closely related A.I.-sired replacements to maintain con-tinuity. In subsequent years, members will develop supe-rior replacement heifers that produce feed efficient, quality carcass merit progeny. “The Select Sires brand promise and sire selection are founded on fundamen-tals: calving ease, carcass, and cows,” House said. “Heifers developed through this pro-gram will be a foundation for the future of the cowherd, and steers will perform very well in the feed yard and on the grid.” To learn more about becom-ing an Elite Producer member of The Beef Connection, visit www.thebeefconnection.com or www.selectsiresbeef.com.

Great Cattle come from Great Data Select Sires Announces Partnership with The Beef Connection

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