| Description: | The interest in how the genome (DNA) of any species is organized and expressed as traits in an animal has led to a new subdiscipline of genetics, called genomics. Available and rapidly improving technologies have allowed the examination of the genome of an organism as a whole, rather than one or a few genes at a time. Thus, the interest in genome research has focused on sequencing genomes of livestock and poultry to understand how various genes function and interact (functional genomics). A spinoff from this knowledge is gene transfer (transgenesis), which has the potential to create new or altered strains of agriculturally important animals. These transgenic animals will have improved disease resistance, better growth rate and yield, improved reproduction, and altered cell and tissue characteristics for biomedical research and manufacturing. The program attempts to identify DNA sequences or quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with disease resistance or susceptibility and production traits in livestock and poultry species. These markers will be useful in selection strategies in most, if not all, livestock and poultry species. The potential for agricultural genomics was officially recognized in the 1990 Farm Bill, which authorized a USDA National Genetics Resources Program. As a result, two new programs were proposed and established: a National Animal Genome Research Program (NAGRP) to be led by CSREES and a National Animal Germplasm Program to be led by ARS. To help coordinate the U.S. genome mapping efforts in cattle, sheep, swine, and poultry species, the National Research Support Project (NRSP-8) was initiated in 1993. Recently, horses and aquaculture (fish and other water animal) species were added. This project facilitates greater communication among various interest groups through the Species Genome Committees. These committees foster exchange of materials, maintain genomics maps (both physical and genetic), establish databases for sharing and communicating information, and provide leadership in establishing research priorities at a national level. Key partners in these efforts include Auburn, Texas A&M, Kentucky, Michigan State, Utah State, and Iowa State universities. The Iowa State University team leads database coordination efforts. NRSP-8 is an umbrella project to support and complement the activities of several multistate research projects. These projects primarily focus on species-specific objectives and depend on the resource and infrastructure support of NRSP-8. Examples of these multistate projects are: |
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