COLLEGE STATION — On the plains, in the mountains and through the jungles of Colombia, Texas Agricultural Experiment Station researchers think they can find bovine genetic material that may help improve the Texas cattle industry.
At the same time, they hope to help Colombia preserve some of its natural heritage and transfer valuable technology to that country.
“This project should demonstrate that conservation and utilization of animal resources can go hand in hand,” said Dr. Jorge A. Piedrahita, an assistant professor of molecular embryology at Texas A&M and an experiment station researcher.
Piedrahita, working in both the veterinary anatomy and animal science departments at Texas A&M, is helping put together a five-year collaborative effort between the Texas A&M University System and Colombian scientific and agricultural institutes.
The Colombian institutes have pledged to provide 50 percent of the project’s funding. If the Texas A&M researchers find U.S. funding sources for the remainder, as they expect to do by spring, the project will be well under way, Piedrahita said.
It kicked off in November with a visit to Colombia by A&M scientists, where they worked with the Colombian institutes to develop a three-pronged research plan. They hope to preserve the unique genetic material in seven Colombian cattle breeds, determine how the breeds’ genetic makeup compares to more widely used cattle, and identify specific genes responsible for resistance to brucellosis and foot-and-mouth disease in the Colombian breeds.
The breeds, called “criollo,” have adapted to various Colombian environments over the past four centuries. Criollo is a term that roughly means “local” and is used throughout South America in reference to different breeds, Piedrahita said.
“Each has unique genetic characteristics that need to be preserved. Unfortunately, the remaining numbers of purebred animals in each breed is quite low, ranging from 450 head for the Harton del Valle to 4,500 for the Romosinuano,” he said.
Now, those breeds may have a more certain future. Other breeds targeted for the program are the Blanco orejinegro, Casanare, Chino Santandereano, Costeno con Cuernos and San Martinero.
“The Blanco orejinegro live in very steep hills from 8,000 to 10,000 feet in altitude, where temperatures might range from the 50s and 60s to freezing,” Piedrahita said. “The Costeno con Cuernos have adapted to the tropical jungle and conditions of extreme humidity and temperatures over 100 degrees, areas where diseases are prevalent.
“These are really some very tough regions, and each breed has developed some desirable traits as a response.”
Other traits the team hopes to study among the various breeds are the ability to utilize low-quality forage, resistance to external parasites, and high reproductive efficiency.
The group’s first goal, preservation and propagation of the seven breeds, seeks to preserve 300 to 400 embryos from each breed by freezing them in liquid nitrogen.
The group also will use several biotechnological techniques, including test-tube fertilization and maturation of ova, to advance propagation of the breeds. Texas A&M expertise is critical to helping Colombia develop such technology, Piedrahita said.
The second goal is identifying the genetic material in each breed that leads to desirable traits. The group has several objectives to be met over the five years of the agreement and will use various genetic techniques to collect DNA, analyze it and share information with others around the world who are making a genetic “map” of cattle.
Identifying genetic similarities among the criollo and differences with more prevalent commercials breeds will be a key aspect of that research.
The third goal is to identify genes that control natural disease resistance and use them to improve resistance to brucellosis and foot-and-mouth disease.
“More knowledge about these diseases would definitely benefit both Colombia and Texas, especially with the increased movement of animals from Mexico to Texas.”
The team will attempt to identify specific disease-resistant genes in all seven breeds. Piedrahita said such information could be used in identifying animals for use in selective breeding programs or possibly even for creating genetically engineered cattle.
Numerous advanced genetic techniques used throughout the program will be carried out by research teams from both countries. Project leaders at Texas A&M, in addition to Piedrahita, are Drs. Garry Adams and James Derr of the veterinary pathobiology department and Dr. Mark Westhusin of the veterinary physiology and pharmacology department.
“We have come up with a program we know will be beneficial to both groups,” Piedrahita said. “We can transfer this technology and at the same time generate a great deal of useful information on cattle genetics.”
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