Project Update - Penrhyn Farm

Genomic testing work at Penrhyn Farm has begun, and we have tested 31 yearling heifers and the 3 stock bulls (we already had the Myostatin variants of the 4th bull).

Hair samples were taken from the switch of the tails of the animals, ensuring that we had 20-40 clean, dry hairs with the hair follicle intact on at least 50% of the hairs. This was important as the DNA is found only in the follicle and not in the hair itself. The samples were then sent to the Limousin Society for testing of myostatin variants carried plus polled and coat colour genes.

 

Table 1. This table shows the specific myostatin variant each heifer possesses, and the number of the variant present.

 

Number of specific myostatin variant carried

Number

Nt821

F94L

Q204X

E291X

Nt419

1

1

1

 

 

 

2

 

2

 

 

 

3

1

1

 

 

 

4

2

 

 

 

 

5

1

1

 

 

 

6

1

1

 

 

 

7

1

1

 

 

 

8

1

1

 

 

 

9

1

1

 

 

 

10

1

1

 

 

 

11

1

1

 

 

 

12

2

 

 

 

 

13

1

1

 

 

 

14

 

2

 

 

 

15

2

 

 

 

 

16

1

 

1

 

 

17

 

 

1

 

 

18

1

1

 

 

 

19

1

1

 

 

 

20

 

2

 

 

 

21

1

1

 

 

 

22

1

1

 

 

 

23

 

1

1

 

 

24

1

1

 

 

 

25

1

1

 

 

 

26

1

1

 

 

 

27

1

1

 

 

 

28

1

1

 

 

 

29

 

1

1

 

 

30

 

1

1

 

 

31

1

1

 

 

 

 

As seen in Table 1 the majority of the heifers possess 1 copy of Nt821 and 1 copy of F94L or 2 copies of both, whilst there are no copies of E291X or Nt419 present in any of the heifers in the group.

The next steps will be to weigh, measure the pelvic width, and provide a maturity score for the heifers at 13 months old. Alison Glasgow, the British Limousin Cattle Society Technical Manager, will then provide guidelines on bull matings to provide the best outcome for breeding each heifer in respect of the myostatin variants carried, in order to reduce the risk of any potential calving issues.