Livestock research initiative has greater sustainability as its goal

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Efforts to improve the sustainability of livestock production will be boosted by a new research partnership.

The agreement between the University of Edinburgh and Genus - an  industry leader in applying genetics expertise to livestock production -  will look at how genetics can improve the health and welfare of  production animals.

This approach could include identifying genes that provide resistance  to disease, to improve the quality of bred livestock and help ensure  sustainable food production for a growing global and increasingly urban  population.

The partnership is a strategic investment and provides substantial  funding for three years to support both existing and future  collaborative research projects between Genus and The Roslin Institute  and The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies at the University of  Edinburgh. It will also fund educational initiatives.

The Roslin Institute, which receives strategic funding from the  Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, undertakes  research focused on the health and welfare of animals, and applications  of basic animal sciences in human and veterinary medicine, the livestock  industry and food security.

This  new partnership underpins our world-leading position in the field of  livestock improvement and is central to our Institute strategy of  engaging with industry to ensure the maximum impact from our research.

It provides a collaborative platform to translate insights from  basic research on genetics and genomics directly into the improvement of  the health and welfare of production animals.

Professor David Hume

Genus is a world leader in improvement of pork, beef and dairy animal  production through development of new technologies in animal breeding.

The signing of  this partnership agreement represents a major milestone in our  institutional relationship and is clear recognition that, here at Genus,  we recognise the benefits of working with a world-leading research  organisation such as The Roslin Institute to progress our vision of  pioneering animal genetic improvement to help nourish the world.

Dr Dave McLaren

Research undertaken within the partnership will work towards the  global objective of improving food security at a time when it has been  acknowledged that there must be a sustainable improvement in livestock  productivity.

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