NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – The University of Edinburgh's Roslin Institute announced yesterday that it has formed a research collaboration with Dutch animal and aquaculture breeding firm Hendrix Genetics to improve sustainability in fishing and livestock production through selective breeding.
According to the institute, the partners have previously worked together on salmon disease genetics through a collaboration between Roslin and Hendrix subsidiary Landcatch. That effort resulted in the identification of a gene that makes the fish more resistant to viral disease, as well as the development of genetic tools for selective breeding for resistance to sea lice.
The latest deal, Roslin said, aims to extend that research and develop breeding technologies for other aquatic animals and pigs, chickens, and turkeys. Additional terms of the arrangement were not disclosed.
"We are excited about building on our long-term relationship with Landcatch through establishing this strategic partnership," Bruce Whitelaw, deputy director and head of the developmental biology division at Roslin, said in a statement. "Working with Hendrix Genetics across a number of commercial species offers exciting opportunities for the science that Roslin pioneers."