In news- Recently, the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology released “IndiGau’, India’s first Cattle Genomic Chip.
About IndiGau-
- It seeks to conserve pure varieties of indigenous cattle breeds like Gir, Kankrej, Sahiwal, Ongole etc.
- This indigenous chip was developed by the concerted efforts of scientists of National Institute of Animal Biotechnology (NAIB), Hyderabad.
- IndiGau is purely indigenous and the largest cattle chip of the world.
- It has 11,496 markers (SNPs) more than that placed on 777K Illumina chip of US & UK breeds.
- To further the use of this chip in generating phenotypic and genotypic correlations, NIAB has entered into a collaborative agreement with National Dairy Development Board (NDDB).
- NIAB and NDDB complement each other to undertake this research for generating information for low density SNP chip for any important trait detection, like high milk yield or heat tolerance etc.
National Institute of Animal Biotechnology (NIAB)-
- It is an autonomous institution under the aegis of the Department of Biotechnology.
- NIAB is aimed to harness novel and emerging biotechnologies and take up research in the cutting edge areas for improving animal health and productivity.
- The Institute’s focus of research is on Animal Genetics and Genomics, Transgenic Technology, Reproductive Biotechnology, Infectious Diseases, Bioinformatics and Nutrition Enrichment.
- The institute aims at translational research leading to the development of novel vaccines, diagnostics and improved therapeutic molecules for farm animals.
- The Institute plans to promote bio entrepreneurship by providing a support environment for commercial tenants involved in the development of farm animal based products.
Source: PIB
