Welcome to the IMGC Portal

The IMGC Web Portal enables members of the international milk and lactation research communities to collaborate and accelerate the understanding of the biological processes underlying mammalian milk genomics, the biological products that result from milk and lactation genes, and the health traits that these biological processes and products confer to both, the mother and the infant.

: Message from the Interim Executive Director

: 2012 is going to be a big year for the IMGC. This is a transformation year which will see the revitalization and refocusing of the IMGC to better deliver information, access and opportunities to you, our principal sponsors, and our scientific members. During 2012 we will be introducing new services, welcoming new members and attracting new sponsors. The IMGC aims to help improve the relevance, profile and demand for dairy products through the scientific substantiation of the important role dairy plays within the huge global economic health and nutrition market.
Already we have two exciting announcements to make. We are very happy to advise that Ross Products Division Abbott Laboratories is now an IMGC sponsor. We are also excited to announce that the arrangements are in place for Dr. Danielle Lemay to soon begin the publication of a regular milk research news circular. These are two major breakthroughs and indicators of the changes and improvements that will be introduced over the course of the year. Other initiatives on the agenda include the development of a marketing plan to attract new sponsors.

CDRF is hoping to engage the services of Tristonne Forbes of Azima Strategy and Commercialization to assist with the implementation of these initiatives that all form part of the broader strategic plan developed last year. Our approach will be to work with each of you to determine your key areas of interest and focus. This is a different approach than in previous years and is aimed at ensuring the implementation of the strategic plan as much as possible aligns with your needs as principal sponsors of the organization.

The IMGC looks forward to your ongoing financial support without which these initiatives and the success of this very important organization would not be possible.

Gonca Pasin, Ph.D.
Interim Executive Director
California Dairy Research Foundation, Management Organization of IMGC

New Research: New Research

: Dutch Milk Genomics Initiative

Marleen Visker 2011
(New!) The aim of the Dutch Milk Genomics Initiative is to identify genes that contribute to natural genetic variation in milk-quality traits, in particular milk-fat and milk-protein composition. The program provides tools for improved breeding programs to exploit natural genetic variation in milk-quality traits and contributes to the knowledge base needed for innovative dairy products. The Milk Genomics Initiative combines expertise in the fields of dairy science, quantitative genetics, genomics and bioinformatics.

: Biological pathways associated with lactation performance

Jerry Wei 2011
(New!)

: MamExp (MammoXpressionist): an interactive gene expression browser interface for collaborative comparative lactation genomics.

Christophe Lefèvre 2009-2011
(Updated!) The increasing use of high throughput gene expression microarray analysis in lactation research is rapidly producing a large compendium of results on the expression of genes in the mammary tissue of an accruing number of species (bovine, mouse, human, seal, wallaby, monotremes…). Comparison of data from different species provides new opportunities to better understand the function of genes in the mammary gland and may ultimately lead to increased potential for applications to enhanced lactation in dairy cattle. The storage of mammary gene expression data, usually provided in a data exchange portal, does not allow the direct retrieval of gene expression lists or the comparison of lactation results from independent experiments or species. We are developing on-line facilities for the interrogation of gene expression data series and the reciprocal interspecies mapping of genes to facilitate the retrieval and visualization of gene expression data and the comparison of experimental results. Here, we propose to expand the database to include new data made available through the IMGC portal or otherwise made available in gene expression depository and enhance the functionality by customizing query interfaces and simplifying data upload. These developments will result in the provision of on-line data storage and retrieval interfaces for the interrogation and visualization of gene expression data related to mammary physiology and, will enable a more interactive comparative approach for the collaborative curation and analysis of microarray data.

: Annotation and curation of the bovine milk oligosaccharides library by advanced Mass Spectrometry

Daniela Barile 2010

: Cow, Mouse, and Human Milk and Lactation Genome Browsers

Danielle Lemay 2009
This highly valuable data resource includes milk protein genes, development stage-specific mammary genes, milk trait QTLs, milk trait candidate genes, statistically significant clusters of milk and mammary genes, and mammalian orthologs (human, mouse, rat, dog, opossum, platypus) of the bovine milk and mammary genes.

: More Research...

: Annotation and curation of the first goat milk oligosaccharides library: from analytical characterization to health benefits

Daniela Barile 2011
(New!) Free oligosaccharides are biomolecules that are present in human milk and provide benefits beyond essential nutrients. Numerous functional studies on human milk oligosaccharides (HMO) have concluded that these molecules perform important biological functions including the establishment of intestinal microbiota and prevention of pathogen binding to intestinal cells. Mammalian free milk oligosaccharides are commonly divided in two main groups based on their composition: neutral and acidic. Neutral oligosaccharides are composed of galactose (Gal), Glucose (Glc) N-Acetyl-glucosamine (GlcNAc), fucose (Fuc) and a lactose core; acidic oligosaccharides are characterized by these same monomers but also one molecule of N-acetyl-neuraminic acid (NeuAc) and N-glycolyl neuraminic (NeuGc) are found. At present, the only source of milk oligosaccharides is human milk, which limits oligosaccharides research and practical applications. Because all the attempts to synthesize these molecules have failed to mimic the complexity and bioactivities of HMOs, much simpler structures are being used to supplement dietary products and infant formula. Recent studies have documented that these complex oligosaccharides are present in other mammalian milks, such as goat and bovine milk. This project constitutes the first comprehensive effort to profile and standardize the chemical structures and nomenclature of oligosaccharides present in goat milk (GMO).

: Role of miRNAs in mammary gland development and lactation

Palaniappan Ramanathan 2010

: Enrichment analysis of transcription factors binding sites in blood cells in response to ingestion of bovine milk by healthy adult humans

Francina Sagaya 2010

: Milk's role in directing the infant microbiome

David Sela 2009
This IMGC portal project disseminates B. infantis genes active on milk substrates encountered within the infant gut.

: An Integrated Lactome Dataset

Peter Williamson 2009
The collective set of genes that contribute to the production of milk may be referred to as the “lactome”. This dataset is derived from analysis of multiple inbred mouse strains. The data includes links to electronic databases that provide detailed annotation for each element.

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Welcome to the IMGC Portal

Message from the Interim Executive Director

New Research

More Research...