Heterozygosity of the Celtic polled locus in Canadian scurred beef cattle

Polled cattle are preferable to horned or scurred animals because they are safer for handling and cause less bruising. Although DNA testing can determine horned/polled genotype, scurs may appear in polled animals. The inheritance of scurs is complex because it is a sex-influenced trait that interacts with the polled locus. We demonstrate that in 685 purebred and crossbred Canadian beef cattle, all 153 scurred animals were heterozygous polled at the Celtic variant. In addition, male obligate carriers of scurs were smooth polled when homozygous for the polled mutation. Scurred and non-scurred males were sequenced for five genes (CTDNEP1, SHBG, SOX15, FGF11, and DHRS7C) within the scur candidate region on BTA19 that are functionally related to bone development and hormone regulation. Multipoint linkage analysis was conducted using 18 microsatellite markers and two informative variants (DHRS7C g.29594018G>C and CTDNEP1 c.462G>A) in the scurred families and further supported mapping on BTA19 between BMS2142 (logarithm of the odds (LOD) = 5.42) and IDVGA46 (LOD = 3.47). These data indicate epistatic interactions between the scurred and polled loci and emphasise the necessity for a scurred DNA test to assist purebred beef producers in eradicating the scur trait.

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Where in the beef-cattle supply chain might DNA tests generate value?

Animal Production Science ◽

10.1071/an11060 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 52 (3) ◽

pp. 185 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Alison L. Van Eenennaam ◽

Daniel J. Drake

Keyword(s):

Beef Cattle ◽

Genetic Improvement ◽

Sole Source ◽

Added Value ◽

Dna Testing ◽

Feed Conversion ◽

Cattle Industry ◽

Production Chain ◽

Dna Test ◽

Dna Collection

DNA information has the potential to generate value for each sector of the beef-cattle industry. The value distribution among sectors (breeding, commercial, feedlot, processing) will differ depending on marketing. The more descendants an animal produces, the more valuable each unit of genetic improvement becomes. Therefore, the value of using DNA testing to increase the accuracy of selection and accelerate the rate of genetic gain is highest in the breeding sector, particularly for replacement stud animals. There is a lesser value associated with increasing the accuracy of yearling commercial bulls. The cost to DNA test commercial sires will likely be incurred by breeders before sale, and must be recouped through higher bull sale prices or increased market share. Commercial farmers could also use DNA tests to improve the accuracy of replacement female selection. This assumes the development of DNA tests that perform well for the low-heritability traits that directly affect maternal performance (e.g. days to calving) in commercial cattle populations. DNA tests may provide the sole source of information for traits that are not routinely measured on commercial farms. In that case, DNA test information will provide new selection criteria to allow for genetic improvement in those traits. As DNA test offerings mature to have improved accuracy for traits of great value to the feedlot (e.g. feed conversion, disease resistance) and processing (e.g. meat quality) sectors, the added value derived from DNA-enabled selection for these traits will need to be efficiently transferred up the beef production chain to incentivise continued investment. The widespread adoption of DNA testing to enhance the accuracy of selection will likely require an approach to share the value realised by downstream sectors of the beef-cattle industry with those upstream sectors incurring DNA collection and testing expenses.

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Linkage analysis of multiple sclerosis with candidate region markers in Sardinian and Continental Italian families

European Journal of Human Genetics ◽

10.1038/sj.ejhg.5200301 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 7 (3) ◽

pp. 377-385 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

Sandra D'Alfonso ◽

Lorenza Nisticò ◽

Patrizia Zavattari ◽

Maria Giovanna Marrosu ◽

Raffaele Murru ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Multiple Sclerosis ◽

Linkage Analysis ◽

Candidate Region

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Multipoint linkage analysis of quantitative traits on sex-chromosomes

Genetic Epidemiology ◽

10.1002/gepi.10310 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 26 (3) ◽

pp. 218-230 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Claus Thorn Ekstrøm

Keyword(s):

Linkage Analysis ◽

Sex Chromosomes ◽

Quantitative Traits ◽

Multipoint Linkage Analysis ◽

Multipoint Linkage

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Multipoint linkage analysis of steroid sulfatase (X-linked ichthyosis) and distal Xp markers

Genomics ◽

10.1016/0888-7543(87)90104-2 ◽

1987 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

pp. 52-59 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

J.R.W. Yates ◽

D.R. Goudie ◽

E.F. Gillard ◽

D.A. Aitken ◽

N.A. Affara ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Linkage Analysis ◽

Multipoint Linkage Analysis ◽

Steroid Sulfatase ◽

Multipoint Linkage

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DNA Testing and Genetic Evaluation for Poll Breeding in Tropically Adapted Beef Cattle

Proceedings ◽

10.3390/proceedings2019036098 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 36 (1) ◽

pp. 98

Author(s):

Imtiaz A.S. Randhawa ◽

Michael R. McGowan ◽

Laercio R. Porto-Neto ◽

Ben J. Hayes ◽

Russell E. Lyons

Keyword(s):

Beef Cattle ◽

Animal Welfare ◽

Genetic Variants ◽

Chromosome 1 ◽

Health Production ◽

Dna Testing ◽

Genomic Evaluation ◽

Cattle Breeding ◽

Breeding Schemes ◽

Estimated Breeding Values

In beef cattle, horn management is practiced to physically or surgically remove horns for the safety of animals and workers. However, invasive practices of dehorning and disbudding are a great threat to animal welfare, health, production and human safety, as well as labour intensive and costly. The most effective way to limit the impacts and costs of horns is to prevent their occurrences by breeding naturally polled (hornless) herds. Horn development is complex, although two mutually exclusive genetic variants (Celtic and Friesian) have been found prevalent on each copy of chromosome 1 in most polled cattle. Predicting genotypes in an animal is challenging. Available genetic testing assays were often limited in tropically adapted beef cattle. In this study we present a new optimized poll testing (OPT) assay, which has been bundled with SNP genotyping arrays being used for genomic evaluation in cattle. Breeding schemes can profile future parents for pure-polled stock based on the OPT results. We also evaluated the factors causing complexity in horn conditions. Thus, we coupled OPT predictions with head-status and sex distributions, by modelling genetic and non-genetic impacts, revealing that genetics, sex and sex hormones control horn ontology. Finally, concerns of polledness adversely affecting production and reproduction were investigated by using estimated breeding values of several beef traits. We found no detrimental effects of polledness on production or reproduction. Overall, this research concludes that genetically polled cattle will minimize issues about animal welfare and management costs without reducing production potentials in the tropically adapted beef cattle.

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