Researchers led by James Womack, director of the Center for Animal Biotechnology and Genomics at the college, plan to study gene variants contributing to disease resistance and susceptibility, reproduction, lactation, growth, bone structure, fat deposition, as well as altitude and heat tolerance. The diseases to be studied include bovine spongiform encephalopathy, Johne's disease, foot and mouth disease, and Rift Valley fever.
The scientists will focus on selected breeds of cattle, including European and Asian ones. One project will focus on developing bioinformatics tools for data analysis.