KPU and TRU cattle research collab may make beef industry more resilient to climate change

A hair trait found in a tropical Caribbean cattle breed may contribute to making the beef industry more sustainable and resilient to climate change. 

Robert Wester, a Kwantlen Polytechnic University bachelor of health science alumnus, returned to the campus community to complete his Thompson Rivers University (TRU) master’s degree at KPU’s Applied Genomics Lab.

He worked on testing a gene mutation in cattle so they could be bred to withstand extreme-heat conditions. 

“It was kind of like I never left,” Wester says. “It felt like a really nice transition …. It was really cool to be a part of a project this big, the impacts of it are going to be huge.”

Researchers began testing the mutation following the deaths of hundreds of thousands of cattle lost to the 2021 heat dome, Wester says, which saw temperatures as high as 49.6 C.

He says Canadian cattle are typically more winter hardy because Canada has historically had colder weather. The unprecedented heat dome left cattle breeds like Angus vulnerable to the extreme temperatures. 

The naturally occurring mutation is short and sleek hair, a trait called the “slick coat,” originally found in Senepol cattle, which is a Caribbean breed, Wester says. The trait leaves cattle with higher heat tolerant capabilities because of the Senepol breed’s tropical climate surroundings. 

His TRU graduate program supervisor, John Church, wanted to breed this trait into a more common breed of cattle — Galloway. The idea was to breed the slick coat trait in Galloway cattle, whose breed originates from Scotland, so they are resilient to heat stress. 

However, he needed genomic support, so he got in contact with KPU Applied Genomics Centre Director Paul Adams. The two of them worked on applying for a federal government research grant, from which they received $250,000 a year for three years. 

“This is an opportunity for people to hear about KPU,” Adams says. “[It’s] a teaching-intensive university, but we also do a lot of really cool applied research that’s making a difference.”

He adds that the centre has about 20 active projects, 40 industry partners, and 30 staff.

“There is a lot going on, and I think that will definitely continue,” Adams says.

Wester’s part in the research project focused on genomics, looking at different markers for the slick trait, as well as other meat-quality markers. He also did data analysis on the actual heat-stress responses of these cattle. 

“The idea in the long run is that this new cattle breed will be able to both survive really hot temperatures and really cold temperatures from the genetic influence of the Galloway cattle,” Wester says.

The new breed is called the Climate Master Composite cattle. 

Wester says this research will help sustainability in the beef industry by increasing the longevity of the cattle. Adams says a second goal is to increase animal welfare. 

While cattle farmers agree that climate change is impacting their operations, Wester says they do not necessarily recognize the contribution their industry is making to greenhouse gas emissions. 

He adds with this mindset, farmers will increase their operation size, subsequently increasing greenhouse gas emissions and the severity of climate change — leaving cattle farmers in even more volatile conditions. 

With better resilient cattle, researchers hope that farmers won’t need to increase their operation sizes to combat climate change, slowing the rate at which the beef industry increases its greenhouse gas emissions. 

“Making these cattle’s lives better, which basically makes the beef industry more sustainable and increases the well-being of these cattle — the public doesn’t … realize all the work that went into it,” Wester says. “I think it’s pretty amazing to be a part of a project that’s doing something like this.”