The GeneSeek Genomic Profiler (GGP) Ovine 50K genotyping platform was designed ‘by the Australian sheep industry, for the Australian sheep industry’, and has over 50,000 markers, known as single nucleotide polymorphisms (or SNPs).

The GGP Ovine 50K is ideal for the calculation of genomically enhanced breeding values, particularly for seedstock animals, along with use for parentage assignment, management of recessive genetic traits and conditions, genome wide selection, comparative genetic studies, and higher density imputation.

The GGP Ovine 50K combines Neogen’s proprietary Multiple Objective Localised Optimization (MOLO)* design process with the most relevant and impactful SNPs from previous genotyping arrays to create a single comprehensive solution. The SNP content consists of 15,000 SNPs from the GGP Ovine 15K, over 10,000 SNPs from the existing Illumina 50K array, more than 12,000 SNPs from Illumina HD content, and over 1,700 SNPs to fill in spatial gaps within the genome. In addition, the GGP Ovine 50K includes 9,000 SNPs from the new novel sequence not previously included in earlier genotyping products.

Importantly, the GGP Ovine 50K was developed in collaboration with researchers at the University of New England, Agriculture Victoria and the Animal Genetics and Breeding Unit, and contains markers, known as ‘MLA Top SNPs’, that were specifically identified by researchers as explaining the most genetic variation in the Australian sheep population. The GGP Ovine 50K array also features parentage markers and valued add-on content for various economically relevant traits.

As illustrated in the table below, the GGP Ovine 50K is the only genotyping platform on which the ‘MLA Top SNPs’ are well represented.