Dataset Information

Validation of associations for female fertility traits in Nordic Holstein, Nordic Red and Jersey dairy cattle.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The results obtained from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) often show pronounced disagreements. Validation of association studies is therefore desired before marker information is incorporated in selection decisions. A reliable way to confirm a discovered association between genetic markers and phenotypes is to validate the results in different populations. Therefore, the objective of this study was to validate single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) marker associations to female fertility traits identified in the Nordic Holstein (NH) cattle population in the Nordic Red (NR) and Jersey (JER) cattle breeds. In the present study, we used data from 3,475 NH sires which were genotyped with the BovineSNP50 Beadchip to discover associations between SNP markers and eight female fertility-related traits. The significant SNP markers were then tested in NR and JER cattle.

Results

A total of 4,474 significant associations between SNP markers and eight female fertility traits were detected in NH cattle. These significant associations were then validated in the NR (4,998 sires) and JER (1,225 sires) dairy cattle populations. We were able to validate 836 of the SNPs discovered in NH cattle in the NR population, as well as 686 SNPs in the JER population. 152 SNPs could be confirmed in both the NR and JER populations.

Conclusions

The present study presents strong evidence for association of SNPs with fertility traits across three cattle breeds. We provide strong evidence that SNPs for many fertility traits are concentrated at certain areas on the genome (BTA1, BTA4, BTA7, BTA9, BTA11 and BTA13), and these areas would be highly suitable for further study in order to identify candidate genes for female fertility traits in dairy cattle.

SUBMITTER: Hoglund JK

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3898023 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Validation of associations for female fertility traits in Nordic Holstein, Nordic Red and Jersey dairy cattle.

Höglund Johanna K JK Sahana Goutam G Guldbrandtsen Bernt B Lund Mogens S MS

BMC genetics 20140115

<h4>Background</h4>The results obtained from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) often show pronounced disagreements. Validation of association studies is therefore desired before marker information is incorporated in selection decisions. A reliable way to confirm a discovered association between genetic markers and phenotypes is to validate the results in different populations. Therefore, the objective of this study was to validate single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) marker associations to ...[more]

PMID: 24428918

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Project description:BackgroundThe Nordic Red Cattle (NRC) consists of animls belonging to the Danish Red, Finnish Ayrshire, and Swedish Red breeds. Compared to the Holstein breed, NRC animals are smaller, have a shorter calving interval, lower mastitis incidence and lower rates of stillborn calves, however they produce less milk, fat and protein. Female fertility is an important trait for the dairy cattle farmer. Selection decisions in female fertilty in NRC are based on the female fertility index (FTI). FTI is a composite index including a number of sub-indices describing aspects of female fertility in dairy cattle. The sub-traits of FTI are: number of inseminations per conception (AIS) in cows (C) and heifers (H), the length in days of the interval from calving to first insemination (ICF) in cows, days from first to last insemination (IFL) in cows and heifers, and 56-day non-return rate (NRR) in cows and heifers. The aim of this study was first to identify QTL for FTI by conducting a genome scan for variants associated with fertility index using imputed whole genome sequence data based on 4207 Nordic Red sires, and subsequently analyzing which of the sub-traits were affected by each FTI QTL by associating them with the sub-traits.ResultsA total 17,388 significant SNP markers (-log10(P) > 8.25) were detected for FTI distributed over 25 chromosomes. The chromosomes with the most significant markers were tested for associations with the underlying sub-traits: BTA1 (822 SNP), BTA2 (220 SNP), BTA3 (83 SNP), BTA5 (195 SNP), two regions on BTA6 (503 SNP), BTA13 (980 SNP), BTA15 (23 SNP), BTA20 (345 SNP), and BTA24 (104 SNP). The fertility traits underlying the FTI peak area were: BTA1 (IFLC, IFLH), BTA2 (AISH, IFLH, NRRH), BTA3 (AISH, NRRH), BTA5 (AISC, AISH, IFLH), BTA6 (region 1: AISH, NRRH; region 2: AISH, IFLH), BTA13 (IFLH, IFLC), BTA15 (IFLC, NRRH), and BTA24 (AISH, IFLH). For BTA20 all sub-traits had SNP markers with a -log10(P) > 10. Furthermore the genes assigned to the most significant SNP for FTI were located on BTA6 (GPR125), BTA13 (ANKRD60), BTA15 (GRAMD1B), and BTA24 (ZNF521).ConclusionThis study 1) shows that many markers within FTI QTL regions were significantly associated with both AISH and IFLH, and 2) identified candidate genes for FTI located on BTA6 (GPR125), BTA13 (ANKRD60), BTA15 (GRAMD1B), and BTA24 (ZNF521). It is not known how the genes/variants identified in this study regulate female fertility, however the majority of these genes were involved in protein binding, 3) a SNP in a QTL region for FTI on BTA20 was previously validated in three cattle breeds.

Dataset Information

Validation of associations for female fertility traits in Nordic Holstein, Nordic Red and Jersey dairy cattle.

Background

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Validation of associations for female fertility traits in Nordic Holstein, Nordic Red and Jersey dairy cattle.

Similar Datasets

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