The following documents provide information about the ICAR Parentage Analysis Certification for DNA Data Interpretation Centres
The main purpose of the Genotype Exchange for Parentage Analysis (GenoEx-PSE) database is to provide a service for exchanging standardised sets of SNP for genotyped animals to facilitate and streamline parentage analysis activities carried out by organisations that are responsible and/or active in parentage integrity.
Organisations wishing to join GenoEx-PSE services shall:
In recent years, genomics has greatly increased its range of applications and its results are now a regular part of the evaluation process of the performances of farm animals.
The need of getting reliable high-quality standards in bovine parentage testing is negatively affected by wrong parentage analysis, producing a negative impact on the estimation of genetic indexes and adversely affecting national and international genetic evaluations.
Following these considerations and for supporting its member organisations, ICAR decided to define minimum requirements for organisations running DNA analyses for breeding purposes in cattle. Guidelines for certification are presently given for parentage testing in cattle based on microsatellite analyses as well as SNP-based genotyping by laboratories and SNP-based parentage analysis by DNA Data Interpretation Centres.
Laboratories requesting microsatellite- and/or SNP-based certificationwill have to apply by downloading from the ICAR website the necessary forms below listed, filling them out and emailing them to DNA@icar.org
Further instructions and forms for the application are available here
The latest version of the forms must be filled out accurately and completely, providing necessary documentation as required. The application will be evaluated by experts appointed by ICAR that will either approve it, request additional information, or reject it. In case of rejection for some services, the applicant may submit a new form and pay the associated fees.
For the above laboratory certifications, applicants have to provide the ISAG membership number, and the Certificate of Participation issued at the most recent round of Cattle SNP and Cattle microsatellite (STR) comparison tests organised by ISAG. Certifications can be provided in any language if a translation into English (even an in-house translation) is attached to the original documents.
Certification will be given for a two-year period, at the end of which a new application is to be completed and submitted.
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