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Faculty/Staff Focus
Old deer, new tricks: Seabury applies
sequencing to the white-tailed deer
Together with his research team,
Dr. Christopher M. Seabury, assistant
professor in the Department of
Veterinary Pathobiology at the Texas
A&M College of Veterinary Medicine &
Biomedical Sciences (CVM), has used
next generation sequencing technologies
to develop a working comparative
knowledge of the white-tailed deer
genome. Their paper, “Genome-Wide
Polymorphism and Comparative Analyses
in the White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus
virginianus): A Model for Conservation
Genomics,” was recently published
in PLoS ONE. It included a complete
mitochondrial genome sequence assembly
as well as a survey of nuclear
genome sequences from both southern
and northern white-tailed deer.
Before Seabury’s publication, no
large-scale genomics research had
been done on this species, in part because
of inadequate funding. Seabury
and his team strongly believe in the importance
of developing species-specific
genomic tools and resources for the
white-tailed deer, so such studies need
not rely on technologies and resources
borrowed from domestic cattle and
sheep. Seabury’s efforts are driven
mainly by burgeoning wild and captive
white-tailed deer populations in Texas
and nationally, a strong economic
impact surrounding white-tailed deer
related to agribusiness, and a myriad
Dr. Christopher M. Seabury
of interesting biological characteristics,
such as adaptability, fecundity, and differential
susceptibility to disease.
Relevant to Seabury’s recent study, a
2007 study by agricultural economists
from Texas A&M determined that
farmed white-tailed deer ranked sixth
in agricultural products, bringing in
$652 million to the Texas economy,
with a national economic impact in excess
of $3 billion. White-tailed deer are
distinctive in that they occur as both
free ranging wildlife species and captively
propagated agricultural species.
Given the obvious economic impact of
activities related to white-tailed deer,
researchers determined that the species
will be a major agricultural player
for years to come.
“The research represented by this
publication provides a cost-effective
template for rapidly developing novel
and sophisticated genomics research
programs for species that don’t receive
a lot of funding…the so-called minor
species,” Seabury said.
Seabury’s research also shows that
one principal investigator and a small
team of other scientists can make
significant progress in historically underfunded
species by developing tools,
resources, and methodologies. The
entire deer project was carried out by a
single laboratory, with one computer in
Seabury’s office.
Seabury said he hopes this research
will help in managing both free-ranging
and captive populations of whitetailed
deer, which should benefit both
breeders and molecular ecologists.
Importantly, his work can be applied to
other species where funding is limited.
As more information and tools become
available for underfunded species,
Seabury anticipates his work will help
generate additional funding for the
white-tailed deer as well as other important
non-model species.
“It’s not just the deer resources and
analyses, but the method and workflow
that can be utilized for any wildlife
or minor species,” Seabury said. “We
literally took white-tailed deer genomics
from a casual conversation with no
tangible resources, to a sophisticated
“We at the TDA are excited about
the potential Seabury’s cutting-edge research
has on our industry.”
~ Dr. Dick Cain
research program with thousands of
deer-specific genetic markers and comparative
genome annotation in a very
swift fashion.”
Seabury and his team enlisted help
from Dr. Don Davis, the Texas Deer
Association (TDA), and the Texas
Parks and Wildlife Department, which
provided access to DNA resources from
both captive and free-ranging deer.
Dr. Dick Cain, representative of the
TDA, said that TDA’s relationship with
Texas A&M has been longstanding.
“We at the TDA are excited about
the potential Seabury’s cutting-edge
research has on our industry,” Cain
said. “His research will give a complete
genetic map of white-tailed deer, will
provide the opportunity to help with
reproduction, will facilitate in eliminating
transmissible diseases, and provide
support in treatment of disease. It
holds great promise, and as a tremendous
contribution to our industry, it
will change the way we breed deer in
the future.”
Seabury said, “This paper, which utilizes
cutting-edge biotechnology and
computing, will forever change how
we approach genomic research with
respect to historically underfunded
species and make large-scale genomics
possible for groups with very modest
research budgets, including developing
countries, thereby enabling sophisticated
research in many new species.”
CVM Today • Winter 2012 • 47