A New System For Collecting And Processing Phenotypic And Genetic Information From Sheep For Improved Selection Tools

Current genetic improvement schemes are well developed in the Australian sheep industry for standard quantitative production traits. With the advent of new molecular genetic technologies, however, a new sheep industry linked system is being developed by the Sheep CRC based on the Information Nucleus (IN) concept. This system will deliver new and improved Australian Sheep breeding Values (ASBVs) for difficult and expensive to measure traits for product quality and production efficiency. The IN system is a world first and uses a network of research flocks representing the wider industry breed structure and combines extensive phenotyping and genotyping of up to 5,000 progeny annually. The IN system has developed new phenotyping protocols with modern electronic data capture, a sophisticated database and is linked with contributing stud breeders via Sheep Genetics (SG). Effective delivery of next generation genetic tools to the industry is facilitated by the stud breeder participation including provision of semen from selected sires and involvement in field activities.