Int’l - Euribrid DNA research gets Government backing

Euribrid, the breeding division of Nutreco, has secured €700,000 funding from SenterNovem, an agency of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, to step up its DNA research programmes over the next three years. The cash boost is a major advance, says Dr. Gerard Albers, head of Euribrid’s Research and Development programmes, towards being able to fully mobilise the use of DNA-based technologies, for the further and more rapid advancement of Euribrid’s broiler, swine and turkey breeding activities. “With a growing patent portfolio of single-gene DNA tests,” explains Albers, “we are now also able to offer high throughput genotyping, using genetic markers known as single nucleotide polymorphism – or ‘SNP’ - to target highly focused breeding programme development.” Euribrid’s R&D supports the breeding programmes of three Euribrid operating companies; Hybro (broilers), Hypor (swine) and Hybrid Turkeys. Advances in the use of SNP technologies have become viable as a result of the large-scale sequencing of the genomes of farm animals. The much publicised chicken genome sequencing project, the first to be completed, yielded millions of SNPs – for which, by working collaboratively with a number of leading academic institutions, Euribrid secured access to more than 20,000 validated markers for deployment within Hybro’s broiler breeding programme. “Hybro’s broiler breeding programme will be first to benefit from the further development and application of novel breeding approaches based on genomic selection, or genetic selection based on DNA-derived breeding values”, says Albers. The tools and technologies used, including high throughput genotyping and novel software to manage complicated algorithms and enormous data flows will, however, be generic - and therefore equally applicable to the advancement of both Hypor (swine) and Hybrid Turkeys’ genetic selection programmes.