SNP Mutations that Affect Milk, Fat, and Protein Yield in Cattle
- 详细技术说明
- This technology has identified four SNPs on an important QTL for dairy cattle related to the production traits of milk yield, milk fat yield and milk protein yield in the dairy cow.
- *Abstract
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Nucleotides are the building blocks of DNA, which form the code for genes that determine physical characteristics and production traits in animals such as milk yield. When one of the nucleotides in DNA coding for a gene is replaced by another as a result of a mutation, a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) is formed. These SNPs can have drastic effects on the function of a particular gene, for example increasing susceptibility to certain diseases or increasing or decreasing potential production characteristics such as milk yield.
Quantitative trait loci (QTL) are regions of DNA that are linked to production traits of an animal. Because they often span large intervals, however, it is often difficult to pinpoint which specific genes or associated gene mutations are actually responsible for most influencing a production trait associated with a QTL. SNPs that affect milk yield, fat yield and protein yield have been mapped in dairy cattle; however, extensive mapping of SNPs linked to QTL has not been done. This technology has identified four SNPs on an important QTL for dairy cattle related to the production traits of milk yield, milk fat yield and milk protein yield in the dairy cow.
DESCRIPTION/DETAILS
Progeny of three known QTL-heterozygous sires were used to identify numerous SNPs located on a bovine chromosome in a 9 Mbp QTL-critical region related to milk production traits. A region of significant areas in the first mapping overlapped significantly with regions from progeny from a test of unrelated sires. Sequence capture technology was then used to identify all those SNPs in this 2.8 Mbp QTL-critical region. In this region, four SNPs were located in the promoter regions of genes associated with milk, fat, and protein yield.
This technology demonstrates that sequence capture technology can be applied to cattle genetics research to identify polymorphisms that are responsible for variation in quantitative traits of economical importance.
APPLICATIONS
- Artificial insemination companies
- Genomics technology companies wishing to target uses for animal agriculture and production
- Animal selection and breeding programs in place at dairy production facilities and at bull studs
- Animal health companies wanting to screen for diseases
- The technology's methodology can be transferred for use with other domestic livestock species
BENEFITS
- Animals can be screened for SNPs to predict and characterize production traits and risk for disease
- Breeding programs can be improved and with less expense as elite animals can quickly and easily be identified
For more information about this technology, please contact the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Office of Technology Management at otm@illinois.edu.
- 国家/地区
- 美国
