Brahman cattle are of particular importance for the beef industry in Queensland and northern Australia because of the breed’s tropical adaptation. However, tropical adaptation comes with associated negative traits such as lower fertility and late puberty. 

This project aims to understand the biological basis of late puberty in Brahman cattle, and to deliver a diagnostic tool a - DNA chip - specifically designed to assist selection for improvement in their fertility.

Gene expression of key tissues will be measured in pre- and post-pubertal animals using next-generation sequencing. 

This project is conducted in collaboration with the groups of Professor Stephen Moore (QAAFI), Dr Sigrid Lehnert (CSIRO) and Dr Toni Reverter (CSIRO).