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Pfizer To Release Genomic Test For 50,000 Markers

published: December 17th 2009
by: John A. Lacko
source: Kalamazoo Gazette

Pfizer Animal Genetics will launch in January a new genomic test that is expected to greatly expand the way cattle are evaluated — increasing the chances for ranchers and others to improve the quality and value of beef that is ultimately produced. Pfizer Animal Genetics, a business unit of Pfizer Animal Health, “will release a new genomic test that will expand the breadth of cattle DNA evaluation by almost a thousand-fold — from a current 56-(genetic)-marker technology to predictions that utilize more than 50,000 markers,” the company announced in a press release.

A genetic marker is a gene or DNA sequence associated with a particular trait. The testing should allow those in the industry to better gauge such things as feed efficiency and the future tenderness of the beef.

The new high-density 50K testing technology is expected to allow those in the beef-producing industry to enhance “the precision and speed at which they are able to make genetic progress in their herds,” according to Ronnie Green, senior director of Global Technical Services for Pfizer Animal Genetics.

“When I was growing up showing Angus heifers in the 1970s and 80s, this kind of technology and the impacts it can have were not even remotely imaginable,” Green said in the company press release.

Although the company has not disclosed the potential market value for the genome testing in terms of anticipated revenue, company spokesman Rick Chambers said, “It’s certainly a tool that we feel will be important to our customers and we look forward to providing it.”

The product is going to be supplied from Kalamazoo because this is the headquarters for Pfizer Animal Health, Chambers said, and that “underscores the importance of the animal genetics business to our overall animal health business.”