They may have been top performers amidst the lush landscape and airy altitudes of their native Alps, but Toggenburg goats haven’t fared so well in Sub-Saharan Africa. Imported to Kenya because of their high milk production, the Swiss goats bred with native goats and their offspring have proven to be not so hardy. Some are not tolerant to the heat; others are easily infected with parasites. In collaboration with the USDA and the African Goat Improvement Network, Heather Huson is hoping to use her background in genetics to improve the goat herds that are so vital to the health and livelihoods of African communities. She is working to identify distinct genetic goat populations, characterize breed structure and distribution, and lay the groundwork for future genetic improvement based on selection for disease and parasite resistance, climate resiliency, and improved milk production.
The most recent addition to the Department of Animal Science actually started her career researching the genetics of dogs. As a graduate student at the National Human Genome Research Institute and a Ph.D. student at the University of Alaska – Fairbanks, Huson found that Alaskan sled dogs represent a distinct genetic breed, characterized by performance and behavior rather than appearance. Her passion for sled dogs goes back even further– she grew up participating in sled-dog racing, qualifying twice for the U.S. team, and competing in the sport’s world championship of sled-dog racing in 1995 and 2001.
At Cornell, Huson’s research will focus on dairy cattle. She recently left the USDA’s Bovine Functional Genomics Laboratory in Beltsville, Maryland, to return to Cornell (she graduated with a B.S. in animal science in 1997) and become the department’s first Robert & Anne Everett Professor of Dairy Cattle Genetics. She hopes to expand upon existing knowledge about the genetic loci associated with milk, fat, protein yield, reproductive traits and diseases by examining the genetic factors of energy metabolism, immune response and thermo-tolerance. Her research also explores the dynamics of genetic diversity, inbreeding depression and hybrid vigor within herds and breeds.
One application of her research that could prove especially valuable to New York farmers is a system to improve the selection of optimal mating sires for specific herds. The use of genotypic data of individual sires and cows allows for more informed selection potential towards production and health traits while reducing inbreeding levels.
“Current mating systems rely on pedigree information which is extremely variable in reliability and use only a subset of genotypic information,” Huson said. “This type of mating system would use all of the genotypic information and factor in inheritance patterns to optimize genetic gain.”
The examination of cross-bred cattle is an alternative approach towards reducing inbreeding while monopolizing on production traits. Utilizing admixture mapping and ancestry modeling, Huson is aiming to identify genomic loci and corresponding ancestral haplotypes relating to production, environmental adaptation, disease resistance and temperament traits.
“Ancestral characterization of genomic regions to economically and culturally important traits would improve the efficacy of selection for propagation and genetic stabilization of desirable traits in cross-bred animals,” she said.
