Illumina has announced the next-generation High-Density Bovine Beadchip (BovineHD) array product using its Infinium HD assay.
The chip contains data from more than 20 diverse breeds that was generated from sequencing largely done with Illumina Genome AnalyzerIIx technology.
The BovineHD Beadchip will interrogate more than 500,000 loci, representing over ten times more genetic markers than the company's BovineSNP50 Beadchip.
Jay Flatley, president and chief executive officer of Illumina, said: 'While the BovineSNP50 will continue to be the industry's premier genetic-screening panel, the addition of the BovineHD to Illumina's product portfolio will serve as a powerful research tool for enabling more discoveries of quantitative traits and expanding the diversity of bovine breeds assessed in genetic prediction.' The product is the result of an international collaboration involving Illumina and a number of agricultural-research organisations, including the US Department of Agriculture - Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS), Pfizer Animal Genetics, the University of Missouri, the National Association of Livestock and Artificial Insemination Cooperatives in France (UNCEIA), and the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA).
The team performing the SNP discovery and selection was led by Dr Curt Van Tassell, research geneticist at USDA-ARS.
