Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Pfizer commercialises AgResearch technology

Updated at 12:44 pm on 3 September 2010

The world's largest research based pharmaceutical company has commercialised a genetic tool which will allow sheep farmers to predict the performance of their flocks in four key areas.

In January last year, a team of scientists based at AgResearch in Dunedin released the Ovine SNP50 BeadChip which pinpoints small genetic differences that produce a variety of commercially important traits in sheep.

Pfizer Animal Genetics has commercialised the research, which New Zealand general manager Sarah Adams describes as a world first and a milestone for farmers with Romney, Coopworth or Perendale flocks.

She says the 50,000 DNA markers will more accurately predict the weaning and carcass weight of lambs, the number of lambs born and resistance to parasites.

Copyright © 2010, Radio New Zealand