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Showing posts from March, 2014

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Dr. Jamie Courter is your Mizzou Beef Genetics Extension Specialist

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By Jared E. Decker Many of you have probably noticed that things have been a lot less active on the A Steak in Genomics™   blog, but you probably haven't known why. In January 2021, I was named the Wurdack Chair in Animal Genomics at Mizzou, and I now focus on research, with a little bit of teaching. I no longer have an extension appointment. But, with exciting news, the blog is about to become a lot more active! Jamie Courter began as the new MU Extension state beef genetics specialist in the Division of Animal Sciences on September 1, 2023. I have known Jamie for several years, meeting her at BIF when she was a Masters student. I have been impressed by Jamie in my interactions with her since that time.  Dr. Courter and I have been working closely together the last 6 weeks, and I am excited to work together to serve the beef industry for years to come! Jamie holds a bachelor’s degree in animal science from North Carolina State University and earned a master's degree in animal

Ancient African Cattle First Domesticated in Middle East, MU Study Reveals
New genetic history of cattle allows for better breeding methods, reveals new aspects of human history

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From PLOS Genetics doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1004254.g005 Story Contact : Nathan Hurst,   hurstn@missouri.edu , 573-882-6217 COLUMBIA, Mo. – Geneticist and anthropologists previously suspected that ancient Africans domesticated cattle native to the African continent nearly 10,000 years ago. Now, a team of University of Missouri researchers has completed the genetic history of 134 cattle breeds from around the world. In the process of completing this history, they found that ancient domesticated African cattle originated in the “ Fertile Crescent ,” a region that covered modern day Iraq, Jordan, Syria and Israel. Lead researcher Jared Decker , an assistant professor of animal science in the MU College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, says the genetics of these African cattle breeds are similar to those of cattle first domesticated in the Middle East nearly 10,000 years ago, proving that those cattle were brought to Africa as farmers migrated south. Those cattle then

Adapting Breeding Practices to Genomic Technologies

Reporting on the  RAAA Brain Trust 2014: Genomics are building blocks for the future; seedstock producers are the architects , Sheyna Strommen discusses the recent Red Angus seminar held in Denver, Colorado. The Brain Trust is the Red Angus Association's educational forum. Bob Weaber, a professor at Kansas State and state cow-calf extension specialist, discussed how genomic technologies, such as genomic-enhanced EPDs, are now a useful tool for breeding cattle. The article by Strommen quotes Weaber: “The purpose of genomics is not to make one bull’s EPDs go up and another’s go down,” Weaber explained. “The real purpose is to enhance the EPD accuracies of the bulls and females tested.“ “If we think about collecting data in traditional genetic evaluation systems to produce EPDs, predictive power takes a lot of data and a lot of time,” Weaber acknowledged. “We have the advantage in genomic data to make selection decisions when cattle are really young.” This may allow seedstock p