SYDNEY, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- A group of 57 researchers from 30 institutions around the world announced here Tuesday they had made a major breakthrough in determining which genes influence the height of cattle.
Scientists said the new information will "open the door" for researchers to now use the same approach to map high-value traits for food production.
But pinpointing the specific genes that affect the height of cow holds one major challenge which is how to identify variants in the genome that may have variations due to behavioral and environmental factors.
"To overcome this issue, the consortium pooled large genomic datasets and phenotypes collected from 58,000 cattle around the world to gain the clearest picture so far of their genetics," University of Queensland's Professor and author of the study Ben Hayes said.
"We needed access to vast resources of data in order to demonstrate that the genes affecting a complex trait like height can be accurately identified."
"By applying the same collaborative big data approach, it may now be possible to identify genes associated with high-value complex traits that are really important to the industry, such as beef and milk production, feed efficiency and reduced methane emissions."
But on top of the tens of thousands of cattle that were looked at in the study, Hayes and his team also had to look into the past for answers.
Bones from a 6,500-year-old cow species were also used to confirm the findings.
"Aurochs are an extinct species of large wild ox which were domesticated by ancient humans about 10,000 years ago and bred to be shorter and are the ancestor to all cattle breeds," Hayes explained.
"From analysing the DNA of this animal, we could predict its height, and then verify our prediction with the fossil records of auroch skeletons."
Interestingly, when the genetic datasets taken from the cattle were compared with humans and dogs, researchers were surprised to find a "high degree of overlap."
"The same genes influencing height in cattle also influence the trait in other mammalian species," Hayes said.
"This is something that has never been demonstrated before."
"It opens up the possibility for researchers working in cattle and human genomics to share data on traits such as temperament and body fatness."