Master’s student of the "7M05109 - Biotechnology" program, Kozhakhmet Altynai Talgatkyzy, completed a research internship at the National Institute of Genetics (NIG) and DDBJ.

As part of her master's thesis research, second-year master's student Kozhakhmet Altynai Talgatkyzy completed a research internship at the Laboratory of Biological Networks of the National Institute of Genetics (NIG) and DDBJ in Mishima, Japan, from January 15 to February 12, 2025.

The purpose of the research internship was to deepen knowledge and master modern methods for analyzing SNP data to identify candidate genes responsible for the productivity of the Kazakh meat-wool sheep breed. During the internship, methods for bioinformatics processing of SNP-genotyping data were studied.

As part of the internship, Altynai mastered SNP-genotyping data processing methods using PLINK and RStudio platforms, data cleaning and annotation techniques, associative SNP analysis for productivity traits, and approaches for assessing genetic diversity and population structure in sheep.

The internship contributed to a deeper understanding of population genetics and bioinformatics. It allowed for the application of modern SNP data analysis methods to assess sheep productivity traits, conduct a comparative analysis of the genetic structure of local breeds, and explore the potential use of SNP markers in the genetic selection of livestock.

The acquired experience and mastered methods are essential for completing the master's thesis and for further research in the field of genomic selection. The results of the internship will be used to identify candidate genes influencing the productivity of the Kazakh meat-wool sheep breed, contributing to the development of domestic livestock genetics.