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"Genomics" is transforming many fields of human understanding and endeavour, the agricultural sciences being no exception. The transformations include identifying the DNA responsible for particular conditions, and potential ways to modify such effects, through to ways of identifying individuals' genetic merit. The latter is particularly relevant to animal production, but both research and implementation carry involve challenges. The idea of genes being "for" something for the majority of attributes of interest is continually being eroded by genomic discovery. At the same time, an ever-expanding array of experimental tools provide increasing scope for understanding the biology of such attributes, which can enrich animal production research and understanding. "Genomics" demands large volumes of phenotypic data for both estimation of genetic merit and reliable elucidation of biological mechanisms. This means that animal production scientists and geneticists will need to collaborate in large-scale programs to exploit the full potential of genomics. |
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