PIC has been a leader in the research and application of genomic technologies in genetic improvement since the area’s inception. This endeavour has historically led to small, incremental changes in the rate of genetic change.

However, it has positioned its business to take a leading position in leveraging the recent development of more powerful and cost-effective technologies that provide unprecedented opportunity to make genetic change.

PIC strongly believes that this technology provides unprecedented opportunity to make significant genetic change when incorporated with genomic relationship based selection. The greatest benefit for increasing rate of genetic improvement will be for traits that are sex-limited, only expressed later in life or traits that we are not able to measure directly on the animal itself.

Consequently, traits such as reproductive traits (maternal lines) or mortality/morbidity (terminal populations and to a lesser extent, maternal populations) will benefit the most from implementation of this technology.

Dr William Herring, Genetic Development Manager, provides an update on PIC's use of genomics in the genetic improvement of our products [click here for more information].