OGI Invests in Food Production Research to Eliminate Boar Taint Using Genetic Markers
Toronto, July 16, 2009 – Through its Pre-Commercialization Business Development Fund (PBDF), the Ontario Genomics Institute (OGI) has invested in a research project at the University of Guelph that is developing a set of genetic markers that can be used to monitor the convergence of a selective breeding program on producing pigs that are free of boar taint. This has the potential to enable breeding companies to produce more marketable pig lines without the need for sterilization or castration.
Boar taint is an unpleasant odour and off-flavour that is sometimes evident during the cooking or eating of pork or pork products. Pigs that are tainted have a very low market value compared to those that are free of taint. Currently, castration, or other sterilization, of male pigs is common practice in pork production to prevent boar taint, but it increases the fat content of the meat due to the removal of the source of natural anabolic androgens that stimulate lean growth, increases feed costs and raises animal welfare concerns that are becoming increasingly important for the industry, with bans in place in several countries.
The University of Guelph team led by Drs. Jim Squires and Flavio Schenkel has already discovered and validated a subset of genetic markers that correlate well with a significant proportion of the phenotypic variation responsible for boar taint. The investment from OGI, with co-investment from industry partner JSR Genetics, the United Kingdom’s leading pig breeding company, will enable the team to identify an expanded set of the most effective markers with the goal of validating a subset that are sufficiently predictive of reduced boar taint to justify the development of breeding programs driven by the biomarker approach. This would result in pig breeds with low enough levels of boar taint to eradicate the need for current eliminative practice. JSR Genetics is providing samples as well as performance and pedigree data.
If successful, the same approach could be used to identify, validate and apply markers for pig breeds used by Ontario and other Canadian pig breeding companies.
“OGI is pleased to be investing in a genomics research program focused on near-term positive impact on food production, both with respect to quality of product and improvement of practice,” commented Dr. Christian Burks, President and CEO of OGI. “As in human health and clinical research applications, the use of genomics technologies for the identification and application of biomarkers reflecting genetic differences within a single species bears great promise, reflecting the applicability of these approaches across a broad spectrum of industry.”
“This investment from OGI will enable us to make the final step in our work of identifying effective markers that will be used in a commercial breeding program to produce lines of pigs that are substantially free of boar taint,” commented Dr. Jim Squires, University of Guelph.
Drs. Squires and Schenkel have been researching the use of genetic markers for 20 years and have in that time benefited from many investments and grants, including a number of grants from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA).
OGI’s PBDF program invests in opportunities — based in genomics, proteomics or associated technologies — that fall in the proof-of-principle (validation) phase of research and that have the short-term potential to secure a significant next step towards the marketplace. Previous recipients have included Ontario universities, research institutes and companies.
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About OGI
The Ontario Genomics Institute (OGI) is a private, not-for-profit corporation focused on using world-class research to create strategic genomics resources and accelerate Ontario’s development of a globally-competitive life sciences sector. Through its relationship with Genome Canada, the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation (MRI), and other private and public sector partners, OGI works to: identify, attract and support investment in Ontario-led genomics research; catalyze access to and the impact of genomics resources; and, raise the visibility of genomics as well as its impact and associated issues.
For more information on OGI, please visit www.OntarioGenomics.ca
OGI media enquiries: Alastair Harris-Cartwright, Corporate Communications Manager, T: +1 (416) 673-6582. E: aharriscartwright@OntarioGenomics.ca
For PBDF information: Rhonda Tannenbaum, Director of Business Development, T: +1 (416) 673-6586. E: rtannenbaum@OntarioGenomics.ca
