It’s A Six Star Steak

Debbie McAllisterPenn State University

2005

The Future is Here• Genetic Solutions

– Australia

• Bovigen Solutions, LLC– United States

• Offering commercial DNA tests for marbling, tenderness, traceability, coat color and paternity

~30,000 genes

The Reasoning• Top two quality

concerns in NCBA 2000 Quality Audit

• Allows producers to select for traits that are difficult and expensive to measure, but economically important

Executive Summary of the 2000 NCBA Quality Audit

Marbling• First gene marker for

production trait in beef cattle

• Tests for favorable alleles of the Thyroglobulin gene on chromosome 14– TG5 single nucleotide

polymorphism fragment

• Thyroglobulin is involved in creating fat cells within fibers

Marbling and Grades

Click to add textClick to add text A B C EDAbundantAbundant

Mod. Abund.Mod. Abund.Sl. Abund.Sl. Abund.ModerateModerate

ModestModestSmallSmallSlightSlight

TracesTracesPract. Dev.Pract. Dev.

Marbling

Maturity

Prime

Choice

SelectStandard

Commercial

Utility

Marbling and Grades

Bovigen Solutions, LLC

Group 1 – yearlings Group 2 – calves Group 3 - NBCEC

Marbling and Breeds

0% 2-STAR 90+% 0-STAR

~40% 2-STAR

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w.b

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crc.

org.

au

Marbling and Breeds

• Japanese Black Wagyu cattle– Breed leader for marbling– Kobe beef– Steaks sell for $120-250

Tenderness• Tests for alleles of

Calpastatin and Calpain genes

• The Calpain gene weakens muscle fibers during post mortem aging

• The Calpastatin gene is a naturally occurring enzyme that inhibits Calpain

A Perfect 6• Herd

improvement

• Tailor products to different markets

• Consumer satisfaction

Summitcrest Star Power

HML Garder

M CALP CALPST

Reaching for the stars…“A quality herd means a quality steak, customer satisfaction and a premium that is felt all the way through the supply chain.” - Jason Strong

Genetic Solutions Sales & Marketing Manager

THANK YOU!

Questions??