Animal breeding companies to continue partnership
Cobb-Vantress and Hendrix Genetics have announced that they will extend their partnership in genomics research and development.
The firms, two of the largest animal breeding companies in the world, will continue the joint development agreement set up in 2008, which aimed to commercialise breeding based on genetic selection.
The partnership has already improved genomic selection tools, such as the SNP Chip for chickens – a glass slide that can identify between 60,000 and one million variations in DNA sequences. These work as “biological markers” and can help scientists identify genes in parent stock which may indicate disease, or potential welfare issues in a bird.
Anton Van Den Berg, chief executive of Hendrix Genetics, said that the continued partnership would “accelerate the rate of research and meet the challenges of food production”.