story by Robyn MillsThe legacy of JS Davies is already being seen in the workof Roseworthy campus’ Professor Stefan Hiendleder withgreat potential bene昀椀ts for animal production and quality.Professor Hiendleder came to theUniversity of Adelaide in 2005 as theJS Davies Professorial Fellow.His work in the field of epigenetics andgenetics promises tremendous advancesin animal breeding.Epigenetics, Professor Hiendlederexplains, is the science “on top ofgenetics”, referring to heritable changes inthe ways our genes are expressed. Thesemodified genomes follow different patternsof inheritance than the classic mendeliangenetics we all learn about in school.“My group is interested in determiningwhich traits are affected by these nonclassical genetics,” says ProfessorHiendleder. The research group isidentifying genetic markers for specificgenes under epigenetic control. To date,there are virtually no data on this infarm animals.“We are using bovine models togenerate outcomes in epigenetics thatwill be of great benefit to the beef industryand beyond, including human medicine,”he says.Current breeding programs in animalsdo not take these epigenetic effects intoaccount. For example, models usedtoday suggest that fertility has a verylow degree of heritability. But there isincreasing evidence that when individualcomponents are investigated, for exampleovulation rate in cattle, epigenetic effectsare playing a much larger role thanpreviously thought.“By identifying these non-mendelianmodes of inheritance for genes thathave important production and qualityoutcomes, we can better understand thegenetic architecture of quantitative traits inanimals and humans.“For beef producers, this means moreaccurate estimates of the breeding valuesof animals,” Professor Hiendleder says.“That leads to increased efficiencies – wecan select for particular characteristicsmore efficiently; we can produce with lessinputs and produce higher quality.”Professor Hiendleder came toRoseworthy from the highly regardedGene Centre of the Ludwig-MaximilianUniversity in Munich.He was attracted to the University ofAdelaide because of the world-leadingresearchers in pre-and post-nataldevelopment (he is also a research leaderin the Robinson Institute’s ResearchCentre for Reproductive Health) andbecause of the JS Davies funding thatenabled him to establish a unique bovinetissue bank at Roseworthy, allowing himto do this exciting work.“This is an extremely valuableresource,” Professor Hiendleder says.“No-one else in the world has anythinglike we have here.”He leads the JS Davies Epigenetics andGenetics Group with four PhD students,one post-doctoral research fellow anda shifting population of Honours andVeterinary Sciences students.Head of the School of Animal andVeterinary Sciences, Professor KymAbbott, says: “The School already has anumber of outstanding animal scientistswho have worked in the areas of genetics,nutrition, food and fibre production ofruminants for over a decade.“The more recent arrival of ProfessorStefan Hiendleder, with his exciting andgroundbreaking work on epigeneticsin beef cattle, has expanded andstrengthened the School’s position as aleading research provider in these fields.“The expansion of the JS Daviesbequest will now facilitate theappointment of at least two more eminentresearchers and the creation of a centrefor research in the areas related to foodanimal production, health and welfare.“Within five years we expect this unitwill be the most significant research hubfor food and fibre animals in Australia,including, as you would expect in avibrant research institution, a largebody of postdoctoral scientists andPhD students.”We are using bovinemodels to generateoutcomes in epigeneticsthat will be of great benefitto the beef industry andbeyond, including humanmedicine.Left: Professor StefanHiendleder at TheUniversity of AdelaideRoseworthy campusPhoto by Chris TonkinThe University of Adelaide | Alumni Magazine 5
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