Plant & Animal Genomes XIV Conference

January 14-18, 2006
Town & Country Convention Center
San Diego, CA

Extension Of A Bovine QTL Viewer By Integrating Genome Sequence And SNP Data

Hanni Salih , Christine G Elsik , David L Adelson

  Texas A&M University Animal Science 432 E Kleberg College Station, TX 77843-3262

Applications of Single Nucleotide Polymorphism’s (SNP’s) are likely to be considerable with respect to cattle. The high frequency of SNP’s make them particularly attractive markers, and SNP’s have the potential to reveal the existence of genes that could be possible drug targets. Our group has previously developed a bovine QTL viewer , which includes a web accessible database of bovine quantitative trait loci (QTL). The release of the bovine genome assembly by the Baylor College of Medicine Human Genome Sequencing Center and recently available SNP data have given us the unprecedented opportunity to link QTL with other bovine genomics data. We have, therefore, extended the bovine QTL viewer to incorporate the genome assembly and the incoming SNP data. The result is a robust map that allows livestock genome researchers to readily visualize sequence features, QTL and SNP data synergistically. The ability to visualize the data together will accelerate cattle genomics research and lead to improved enterprise productivity.
We have linked the bovine QTL database to the genome browser of the Bovine Genome Database, and have positioned the newly acquired SNP data onto the genome assembly. Users can view QTL in the context of other sequence features, including SNP’s. The web interface presents the QTL, with links to the genome assembly, in a mode that is appropriate for both the novice and expert user. This effort is part of the Bovine Genome Database Consortium (http://bovinegenome.org).