Association of the bovine major histocompatibility complex (BoLA) BoLA-DRB3 gene with fat and protein production and somatic cell score in Brazilian Gyr dairy cattle (Bos indicus)

The effect of the bovine major histocompatibility complex (BoLA) locus on animal health may be due to a direct action of its alleles on immune functions, whereas its indirect effect on production traits might be explained by the better general health conditions of more productive animals. In the present study, the BoLA-DRB3 gene was investigated in 1058 cows belonging to seven Brazilian Gyr Dairy herds (Bos indicus, Zebu cattle). A total of 37 alleles were identified, 15 of them described for the first time in a Zebu breed. A highly significant association (p < 0.02) was observed between allele *54 and a decrease (-26.1 kg) in milk protein yield and there was a significant association (p < 0.05) between this allele and lower (-26.07 kg) milk fat yield. There was also a significant association (p < 0.05) between allele *6 and decreased (-12.47 kg) milk protein and allele *7 and increased (12.72 kg) milk protein. There were also indications of association (p < 0.10) between somatic cell score (SCS) and alleles *3 (SCS increased by 0.54 units) and *31 (SCS increased by 0.46 units). The highly significant association of allele *54 with lower protein yield suggests the possible use of this allele in marker-assisted selection programs.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Nascimento,Carlos Souza do, Machado,Marco Antonio, Martinez,Mario Luiz, Silva,Marcos Vinícius G. Barbosa da, Guimarães,Marta Fonseca Martins, Campos,Ana Lúcia, Azevedo,Ana Luisa Sousa, Teodoro,Roberto Luiz, Verneque,Rui da Silva, Guimarães,Simone Eliza Facioni, Oliveira,Denise Aparecida Andrade
Format:	Digital revista
Language:	English
Published:	Sociedade Brasileira de Genética 2006
Online Access:	http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1415-47572006000400011
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!