Challenge

BovReg is unique in providing a comprehensive approach to addressing the entire workflow required to carry out the functional annotation of the genome of a livestock species. BovReg establishes, for the first time, a comprehensive knowledge base integrating elements such as cell lines, laboratory protocols and bioinformatics pipelines with key traits and environmental data for farm animals.

It brings together tools, databases and models, tailoring them to address BovReg key traits (biological efficiency, health and robustness) in cattle breeding. The knowledge base BovReg creates, spans from basic research, e.g. the development of urgently needed cell lines, right through to pilot practical applications, e.g. testing algorithms that incorporate knowledge on biological features into genomic animal improvement programmes.

BovReg creates a fully integrated and validated annotation platform. This allows for the rapid transformation of any experimental dataset into an evidence-based annotation, and for the subsequent testing of potentially functional variants.

Finally, BovReg’s outcomes will pave the way to biology-driven animal breeding tools. The planned integration of comprehensive functional genome annotation, genome sequence data and intermediate high-resolution phenotypes forms the basis for a new generation of biology-driven genomic prediction (bd-GP) tools. By achieving this, BovReg’s conceptual and methodological framework is anticipated to have a major impact on the breeding industry.