| Sheep
Sheep gene insights could help farmers breed
healthier animals
Fresh insights into the genetic code of sheep could aid
breeding programmes to improve their health and
productivity.
S
cientists have
mapped which
genes are turned
on and off in the
different tissues
and organs in a
sheep’s body.
Their findings shed new light on
the animal’s complex biology,
including insight into the function
of genes linked to immunity and
meat quality.
Researchers say the insights
could eventually inform animal
breeding programmes aimed at
improving farmers’ stocks.
Sheep have more than 20,000
different genes but not all of these
are expressed in each tissue type
in the body.
The team focused on genetic
material called RNA, which is
produced as an intermediate step
when DNA code is translated into
the proteins and molecules that
make up cells and tissues.
RNA serves as a functional
read-out of exactly which genes
are expressed in which tissues at
any one time.
Researchers at the University of
Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute
analysed the total RNA produced
in each tissue of the sheep’s body.
Their results represent a major
step towards understanding how
the sheep’s genetic information
influences its physical traits.
The findings also shed light on
the function of hundreds of genes
whose role was previously
unknown.
An online database has been
created from the results, which is
freely accessible to scientists
working anywhere in the world.
The researchers hope this
resource will help to further
understanding of the sheep’s
genetic make-up.
The project is a major
contribution to the global
Functional Annotation of ANimal
Genomes (FAANG) initiative.
The study, published in PLOS
Genetics, was supported by the
Biotechnology and Biological
Research Council (BBSRC). The
Roslin Institute also receives
strategic funding from the BBSRC.
Professor David Hume, of the
University of Edinburgh’s Roslin
Institute, who initiated the project,
said: “This is largest resource of its
kind. Ongoing comparative
analysis will provide insights to
help us understand gene function
across all large animal species,
including humans.”
Dr Emily Clark, of the University
of Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute,
who coordinated the project, said:
“Sheep are a central part of the
rural economy in the UK and are
essential to sustainable agriculture
across the globe. The new
resource represents a major step
towards understanding how the
sheep’s genetic information
influences its physical traits, and
provides a foundation to use this
information to generate
sustainable improvements in the
productivity of livestock animals.”
Meirionnydd upland sheep farm shows how food
production and environmental conservation go hand
in hand
Over three quarters of the Welsh countryside has some environmental or conservation designation,
highlighting the important role farming continues to play in maintaining our natural resources.
ver three quarters
of the Welsh
countryside has
some
environmental or
conservation
designation, highlighting the
important role farming continues
to play in maintaining our natural
resources.
Showcasing exactly how food
production and environmental
conservation go hand in hand
were Farmers’ Union of Wales
Merioneth tenant farmers Geraint
and Rachael Davies, who are the
third generation of farmers to tend
the land at Fedw Arian Uchaf,
Rhyduchaf, Y Bala.
The couple opened the gates to
their home farm, inviting visitors,
including Cabinet Secretary for
Environment and Rural Affairs
Lesley Griffiths AM, to see the land
and stock, the various elements of
the Glastir scheme, with particular
emphasis on the Capital Works
and management options that are
part of the scheme, as well as
O
www.farmingmonthly.co.uk
Capital Works which were part of
the Tir Eryri scheme and
administered by Snowdonia
National Park.
An organic farm since 2005, it
has been in the Glastir Entry
scheme since 2013 and in the
Advanced scheme since 2014.
The land, which lies
approximately 900 feet above sea
level, with much of it reaching up
to 2200 feet, extends to 1200
acres, being mostly mountain land
with approximately 200 acres of
lower land, of which 70 acres is
being kept to produce silage every
year.
Here Geraint and Rachael keep
1000 Welsh mountain ewes and a
Welsh Mountain Ram, which is
turned out to the majority, while
approximately 300 ewes are
crossed with an Innovis Aberfield
ram.
There is also a commercial herd
of 40 suckler cows, the majority of
which are Welsh Black Pedigree
and are crossed with a Limousin
bull. The calves are sold as stores
between 8-15 months to private
buyers. Most of the lambs are sold
at Bala and Rhuthun livestock
markets.
To ensure a thriving wildlife and
rare bird population, whilst also
producing red meat at Fedw Arian
- which includes a site of Special
Scientific Interest - Geraint and
Rachael work closely with FWAG
Cymru, the RSPB Cymru and
Natural Resources Wales.
Rachael Davies, a qualified
Barrister who as well as helping to
run the farm works as a
subcontractor with Kite Consulting
and has recently been appointed
to the Board of Hybu Cig Cymru,
said: “We are clear that food can
be produced whilst maintaini ng
and conserving the natural
environment, they are not mutually
exclusive. We can demonstrate,
here at Fedwarian, that farming
with the environment can aid the
farming process.”
Geraint, who is the FUW’s
county chairman in Merioneth,
shares his wife’s beliefs that
farmers have an important role to
play when it comes to maintaining
the countryside and that both,
food production and
environmental conservation, can
and must go hand in hand.
He said: “We have been
working with a range of
environmental bodies over the
years, such as FWAG Cymru, and
been involved in many
environmental schemes. However,
we are also food producers. It is
really important that there is a
good balance between the two.
You can’t have one without the
other.”
Tegwyn Jones, FUW
Meirionnydd County President,
said: “I would like to thank Geraint
and Rachael for welcoming us all
to their farm and showing us what
can be achieved if food production
and agri-environmental schemes
work together. As a family unit they
do an amazing job.”
October 2017 | Farming Monthly | 27