The Rural Voice, 2002-07, Page 50The leading edge
Company tries to identify tenderness gene
A Maryland company has produced
a working draft of the genetic
structure of cattle and aims to try to
identify the gene or genes that
promote tenderness in meat.
At the BIO 2002 conference in
Toronto in June, MetaMorphix Inc.
announced it had the map of the cattle
genome through a deal with Celera
Genomics Group, which had earlier
created a private -sector version of the
human genome.
With the use of this map,.Sue
DeNise, a geneticist and company
director of research and development,
estimates MetaMorphix will have the
tools to genetically screen and
determine if a young calf will be
tender or tough when it is grown.
"There's a high genetic component
to tenderness," said DeNise.
The search for more consistently
tender beef has preoccupied the
industry in the past few years as beef
competes with chicken and pork for
the palates of consumers. Since
typically producers don't know the
quality of beef until an animal's
slaughtered and graded, a genetic test
that would identify animals likely to
produce tender meat would move the
selection of breeding stock ahead.
"Ultimately we think the
technology will be used to produce a
superior breed of cattle," said Ed
Quattlebaum, chief executive of
MetaMorphix.
He said he wants to make beef the
new chicken of the meat counter.
"You go to the chicken counter and
look at those chicken breasts, they all
look the same, there's no difference in
colour or skin texture. We want to
create the same uniformity, that same
consistency, in beef."
Currently, said Albert Paszek, a
business development manager with
Cargill Inc. which is pumping $10
million into the MetaMorphix hunt for
tenderness, only 10-15 per cent of
cattle that come out of feed lots turn
out to be top grade.
U.S. Department of Agriculture
surveys show consumers are willing to
pay $1.80 extra per pound for steak
guaranteed to be tender.
"The number one reason people
reject a steak is because it's not
tender," said Quattlebaum.
Once the company identifies the
genetic traits that reliably result in
tender and tasty beef it will then have
to figure out how to mass produce
cattle that carry them. Quattlebaum
said that might include cloning or
screening cattle embryos to implant
only those with the proper genes. 0
— Source: The Globe and Mail
How about a weedkiller with hour fries?
You could have an effective weed killer in your cupboard, researchers at the
United States Department of Agriculture say.
Some home gardeners use vinegar as a herbicide and some garden stores sell
vinegar pesticides but no one had tested its effectiveness scientifically until
recently. But USDA scientists have now conducted tests that show that vinegar
may be a potent weed killer that is inexpensive and environmentally safe —
perfect for organic farmers.
Researchers Jay Radharishnan, John Teasdale and Ben Coffman of Beltsville,
Maryland, tested vinegar on major weeds — common lamb's quarters, giant
foxtail, velvetleaf, smooth pigweed and Canada Thistle — in both greenhouse
and field studies. They hand -sprayed the weeds with various solutions of
vinegar, uniformly coating the leaves.
The researchers found that five and 10 per cent concentrations (household
vinegar is about a five per cent solution), killed the weeds during their first two
weeks of life. Older plants required higher concentrations of vinegar to kill them.
At the higher concentrations, vinegar had an 85 to 100 per cent kill rate on all
growth stages.
Spot spraying of cornfields with 20 per cent vinegar killed 80-100 per cent of
weeds without harming the corn. Spraying vinegar over an entire field would be
expensive but spraying on weeds left after cultivation would reduce costs.0
— Source: USDA News Release
46 THE RURAL VOICE
Lactic acid bacteria in
feed reduces E. coli
Researchers in Texas have
found livestock feed containing a
beneficial bacteria commonly
found in cheese and yogurt is
effective in reducing the
dangerous E. coli bacteria in cattle
before they are slaughtered.
Tests on 180 cattle last summer
showed those fed the probiotic
bacteria had a lower incidence of
E. coli 0157:H7 than those given
other feeds, the researchers said.
"Those that were fed our pro-
biotics had a 50 to 70 percent red-
uction," said Mindy Brashears, an
assistant professor in animal
science at Texas Tech University.
"It gives us another hurdle to
put in place before the E. coli gets
to the consumer."
Probiotics are lactic -acid -
producing bacterias that are
already used in livestock feed as a
way to improve weight gains.
"It is commercially available
now to improve animal perform-
ances, but it is not sold on the
basis to reduce E. coli in the
animal," Brashears said. U.S.
Food and Drug Administration
approval will be needed before
these probiotics can be promoted
as an E. coli -reducing feed
ingredient, she said.
It was E. coli 0157:H7 that
infected more than 2,000 people
when it got into Walkerton's
water supply and which is also
responsible for so-called
"hamburger disease". It is found
in the intestinal tract of animals
and can sometimes contaminate
beef during slaughter.
Researchers think lactic acid
bactena 'educes E. coli by either
killing it, preventing it from
receiving the necessary nutrients,
or preventing it from attaching to
an animals's intestines.
The probiotics in feed cost
about one cent per animal per day,
but the cost is offset by improved
weight gain, American Meat
Institute researchers say.0
— Source: Reuters News Agency
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