Cattle genetics go high-tech

By STAFF REPORTER and NZPA

The Dairy Board has sealed a deal with high-flying American biotechnology research company Celera Genomics to use the US firm's extensive expertise with computers to analyse genetic information.

The Auckland-based board subsidiary Vialactia Biosciences will work with Celera to try to pin down which gene codes on the cattle genome control specific traits of interest to the dairy sector.

Celera is best known for its attempt to become the first company to have a complete sequence of the human genome -- the collection of all the genes and other genetic material that are the basic blueprints of life.

Celera Genomics, based in Rockville, Maryland, said its Celera AgGen agricultural unit was working with Vialactia on building a database of information on bovine genetics in an effort to increase dairy productivity.

The companies believe they can use genomics to identify genes and traits in cattle that will result in "sustainable improvements in the dairy industry."

Celera Genomics said the companies would jointly own all intellectual property that resulted from their agreement.

"Vialactia, through its access to cattle populations [and] extensive knowledge of the dairy industry, together with Celera's information and discovery systems, will begin building a broad-based repository of information related to cattle biology," said Celera AgGen general manager Stephen Bates.

Dairy Board spokesman Neville Martin said the main attraction of Celera was its specialised computer capabilities, which could "turbocharge" efforts to analyse cattle genetics.

"The reason for going to Celera is that they are pre-eminent in this field," Mr Martin said.

"They have vastly more computer grunt than can be obtained anywhere else. That will allow us to get the information most efficiently."

A pilot project will sequence 10 per cent of bovine genes and will possibly be the forerunner of a much larger project involving a greater number of target genes.

An early goal will be the identification of gene markers for livestock selection that will enable DNA profiling to identify milk production and other traits in individual animals, giving more precise natural selection for breeding.

Mr Martin emphasised that any information on the genetics of dairy cows owned by New Zealand farmers and used by Vialactia in the project would be protected in normal commercial ways, with no danger that it could be onsold.

"They get no genetic information from us and the new genetic information created out of the project will be jointly owned," he said.

"That which applies to dairy cattle is exclusive to us."

Any discoveries made by Celera during the project related to other species would be available to Celera.

Last July, Vialactia was registered at the Companies Office in Wellington. Soon afterwards, the board said it would boost its research spending by up to $150 million over the next five years to investigate the potential of biotechnology.

Mr Martin said the dairy industry was in a race with its global rivals for knowledge of the cattle genome.

"We're not the only people to have realised the potential of gene-mapping to speed up the breeding process."

Celera's fiscal third-quarter loss widened 80 per cent as it boosted spending on its research teams and equipment.

Its loss in the three months ended March 31 rose to $US24.1 million ($49.31 million), or US45c a diluted share, compared with $US12.8 million, or US25c, a year earlier. Analysts, on average, expected the company to lose US49c a share.

The larger losses reflected higher research and development expenditures, which rose to $US43.5 million, up from $US13.3 million last year.

Meanwhile, revenues rose to $US11.1 million from $US1.8 million in the year-ago quarter, resulting from rising subscriptions and demand for its genomics services.

Celera shares, traded on the New York stock exchange, have tumbled since mid-March, when a statement by President Bill Clinton raised concerns about companies profiting from patents on human genes, triggering a sustained slide by biotech issues.