Genetic Solutions wins the race for the tenderness test

The race to launch the first commercial DNA test kit identifying cattle which carry a gene associated with meat tenderness has been won by Australian agbiotech Genetic Solutions.

Its kit tests for variants of the bovine calpastatin gene which is located on chromosome 7 and has been linked to beef tenderness by Australian researchers.

Launch of the kit consolidates Genetic Solutions' early lead in the developing market for DNA tools that help beef producers raise animals with desirable consumer traits.

The young company has already sold about 7000 of its GeneStar diagnostic kits for meat marbling, which remains the only commercial DNA test for that trait on the market. Marbling is a term used to describe the distribution of fat through muscle.

The DNA tenderness kit, also marketed under the GeneStar brand, reaffirms the technical lead held by Australian agbiotech researchers which Genetic Solutions is translating into commercial activity.

The gene marker for beef tenderness was uncovered by a research team led by Dr Bill Barendse of the Cooperative Research Centre for Beef Quality in a major study involving seven breeds of cattle and 5000 carcasses. Barendse was also involved in the discovery of the gene marker for marbling.

The Beef Quality CRC, CSIRO Livestock Industries, Meat and Livestock Australia and Genetic Solutions are involved in a four-way agreement to pool IP and research strengths.

Genetic Solutions' scientific director Dr Jay Hetzel said the collaboration is focused on developing a range of gene markers for carcass and meat quality as well as -- in the longer term -- disease and parasite resistance in live animals.

The four-year old Brisbane company is expanding operations in the US where a number of rivals are pursuing beef production-associated DNA tests.

To retain its lead in the market, Genetic Solutions will need to maintain its research and development efforts aimed at identifying marker genes.

It will be looking for additional genes associated with marbling and tenderness. Combining several genes linked to a particular trait could double the overall accuracy of the tests, Hetzel said.

The company's growth to date has largely been bootstrapped on its own revenues but it is now seeking strategic partners and is receiving interest from several beef industry players in Australia and the US, Hetzel said.

Seedstock producers are the first target of the GeneStar tenderness kit, which is priced at $60 to $90 per test, but the larger foodlot market is expected to form a bigger market in the long term.