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One of the primary issues facing agriculture today is the accumulation of mutations within artificially created populations of livestock. These genetic alterations can lead to severe consequences, including increased mortality rates and diminished viability of the animals. In nature, such genetic changes are regulated by natural selection. However, when breeding for desirable traits, inbreeding – where closely related animals are crossed – often occurs. This practice raises the likelihood of lethal and semi-lethal alleles appearing in a homozygous state, which can manifest in the phenotype of the animals.

Traditionally, livestock breeders have addressed this issue by culling animals that exhibit obvious signs of mutations. However, recessive mutations can remain hidden in heterozygous carriers, unnoticed, and passed down to their offspring. A key solution to the challenge of mutation accumulation has emerged through direct DNA sequencing of farm animals. This method enables the identification of carriers of mutant genes, facilitating informed culling decisions. Numerous genetic centres worldwide are actively pursuing this approach, including the Research Centre for Genomic Selection at Belgorod National Research University (BelSU), led by Doctor of Biological Sciences Eduard Sneghin.

In recent years, the Centre’s team has made significant strides in developing test systems designed to identify the most critical genetic pathologies in cattle. Significant efforts by senior researcher Anton Sychev culminated in the Scientific and Technical Council of Belgorod State University approving and registering the first ten test systems, which have now been recognized as innovative solutions and granted the status of know-how.

The priority list for these developments includes some of the most detrimental genetic mutations affecting animal husbandry. Notable among these are Bovine leukocyte adhesion deficiency (BLAD), uridine monophosphate synthase deficiency (DUMPS), a Holstein haplotype associated with cholesterol deficiency (HCD), complex vertebral malformation (CVM), brachyspine syndrome (BY), as well as Holstein haplotypes HH1, HH3, HH4, HH5, and HH6.

These test systems have already undergone successful trials on several thousand animals and are now actively utilized to support breeding efforts across more than 60 agricultural holdings and breeding farms in the Belgorod region and across the whole country – from Kaliningrad and the Crimea to as far as Novosibirsk.

“We are confident that the development of these test systems will significantly reduce the mutation load on cattle populations, thereby enhancing productivity in breeding and commercial farms. Additionally, the implementation of our team’s test systems will contribute to the production of higher-quality food products,” stated Eduard Sneghin.