Monsanto Swine Genome Project

Project Description

A major goal of reproductive biology research at the University of Missouri is to improve the quality, efficiency and profitability of animal production. In the past this has been accomplished by identifying animals of superior genetic merit via direct measurement of these animals. Thus progress in improving growth and carcass traits has traditionally been made by using quantitative genetic methods. Reproductive efficiency is the most important economic trait, but is difficult to improve by these quantitative genetics due to low heritability. Progress in understanding the mechanisms that regulate reproductive efficiency will only be made possible by identifying the individual genes responsible for reproductive traits. Identification and characterization of these genes will permit identification of economically superior animals based upon their genotype rather than their phenotype.

Specifically, this project will produce genetic information from cDNA libraries made from female reproductive tissues of swine.  This will allow the study of the regulation of gene expression in oocytes developing in the ovary, and the temporal profiles of gene expression in the pre-implantation stage embryo, oviduct and uterus. The genomic tools will be complemented by computational methods for discovery research.

This effort starts in the laboratory where animal tissue is prepared for mRNA extraction, cDNA preparation, and expression sequence tag (EST) library production.  The resulting genetic material is sent to the DNA Core Facility as 96-well plates for high-volume DNA sequencing operations.  The data obtained are transferred through the MU computer network to assess quality and begin the evaluation and annotation process.  The Internet2 high-speed network can be used for resources external to MU.

This bioinformatics project is a collaborative project among researchers in the Animal Sciences Unit, DNA Core Facility, and the CECS Department. The project is funded, in part, by Monsanto Company and through a National Library of Medicine Training Grant. During the project, Expression Sequence Tag (EST) libraries will be constructed and will be sequenced 750 base pairs deep. The libraries will then be combined and additional sequencing done (producing a total of approximately 60,000 sequences) to end up with a 15,000-25,000 Unigene set. The sequence information then will be used to construct microarrays for studies of gene expression profiles.

This collaborative effort is needed to carry out basic research in animal genomics. It requires major biological, computational, data storage and databases, and networking (local and Internet2) resources working together to further the understanding of basic scientific principals. Each team member brings expertise needed to create a synergistic environment for scientific research and learning. From data produced in the laboratory to the production of information by using and creating various computational tools and library resources, each activity furthers the ends for scientific discovery.

As different activities occur and information is collected, all this wealth of knowledge facilitates the researcher or student's ability to understand the mechanisms under study.