It’s A Six Star Steak Debbie McAllister Penn State University 2005

The Future is Here Genetic Solutions – Australia Bovigen Solutions, LLC – United States Offering commercial DNA tests for marbling, tenderness, traceability, coat color and paternity

~30,000 genes

The Reasoning Top two quality concerns in NCBA 2000 Quality Audit Allows producers to select for traits that are difficult and expensive to measure, but economically important Executive Summary of the 2000 NCBA Quality Audit

Marbling First gene marker for production trait in beef cattle Tests for favorable alleles of the Thyroglobulin gene on chromosome 14 – TG5 single nucleotide polymorphism fragment Thyroglobulin is involved in creating fat cells within fibers

Marbling and Grades

Bovigen Solutions, LLC Group 1 – yearlings Group 2 – calves Group 3 - NBCEC

Marbling and Breeds 0% 2-STAR 90+% 0-STAR ~40% 2-STAR

Marbling and Breeds Japanese Black Wagyu cattle – Breed leader for marbling – Kobe beef – Steaks sell for $

Tenderness Tests for alleles of Calpastatin and Calpain genes The Calpain gene weakens muscle fibers during post mortem aging The Calpastatin gene is a naturally occurring enzyme that inhibits Calpain

A Perfect 6 Herd improvement Tailor products to different markets Consumer satisfaction Summitcrest Star Power HML Garder M CALP CALPST

Reaching for the stars… “A quality herd means a quality steak, customer satisfaction and a premium that is felt all the way through the supply chain.” - Jason Strong Genetic Solutions Sales & Marketing Manager

THANK YOU! Questions??