Evaluation of association between polymorphism within the thyroglobulin gene and milk production traits in dairy cattle

In dairy cattle, many studies have reported quantitative trait loci (QTL) on the centromeric end of chromosome 14 that affect milk production traits. One of the candidate genes in this QTL region – thyroglobulin (TG) – was previously found to be significantly associated with marbling in beef cattle. Thus, based on QTL studies in dairy cattle and because of possible effects of this gene on fat metabolism, we investigated the association of TG with milk yield and composition in Holstein dairy cattle. A total of 1279 bulls from the Cooperative Dairy DNA Repository Holstein population were genotyped for a single nucleotide polymorphism in TG used previously in beef cattle studies. Analysis of 29 sire families showed no significant association between TG variants and milk production traits. Within‐sire family analysis suggests that TG is neither the responsible gene nor a genetic marker in association with milk production traits.     

Influence of arrival weight, season and calf supplier on survival in Holstein beef calves on a calf ranch in California, USA

On a yearly basis, large calf ranches rear thousands of neonatal cattle for replacement heifers, veal or dairy beef. Dairy beef ranches obtain bull-calves from multiple sources and with questionable colostrum intake histories. Such ranches accumulate large amounts of data that could be used to help them with calf purchasing and on-farm management practices to avoid losses. Our purpose was to describe some calf purchase factors associated with mortality in neonatal calves raised on a single large calf ranch. Computerized records describing 120,197 bull-calves purchased between January 1997 and November 1998 were used in a survival analysis. Risk factors for mortality within the first 4 weeks after arrival on the ranch included body weight on arrival, month of arrival, and the calf supplier. The strength of the effects was conditional on the week after arrival to the ranch.     

不同品种牛乳营养成分含量及脂肪酸含量和组成测定比较研究

[目的] 比较中国荷斯坦奶牛、荷斯坦奶牛和西门塔尔牛乳中常规营养成分含量、矿物质元素含量及脂肪酸含量和组成的差异。[方法] 选取中国荷斯坦奶牛、荷斯坦奶牛和西门塔尔牛各6头,每头奶牛收集200 mL生鲜乳样品,利用乳成分分析仪测定乳中常规营养成分含量,通过原子吸收分光光度计测定乳中矿物质元素含量,应用气相色谱仪测定乳中脂肪酸含量和组成。采用统计学方法对不同品种牛乳中的营养成分含量及脂肪酸含量和组成进行比较。[结果] 中国荷斯坦奶牛生鲜乳中乳脂含量显著（P<0.05）高于荷斯坦奶牛,乳蛋白含量显著（P<0.05）高于荷斯坦奶牛和西门塔尔牛;中国荷斯坦奶牛生鲜乳中乳钙含量显著（P<0.05）高于荷斯坦奶牛,乳锌含量显著（P<0.05）高于荷斯坦奶牛和西门塔尔牛。中国荷斯坦奶牛生鲜乳中豆蔻酸含量显著（P<0.05）低于荷斯坦奶牛,油酸和亚油酸含量显著（P<0.05）高于西门塔尔牛;中国荷斯坦奶牛生鲜乳中饱和脂肪酸含量显著（P<0.05）低于西门塔尔牛,不饱和脂肪酸含量显著（P<0.05）高于西门塔尔牛。[结论] 中国荷斯坦奶牛乳中部分营养成分和矿物质元素含量接近或优于荷斯坦奶牛和西门塔尔牛,脂肪酸含量和组成与荷斯坦奶牛相近,脂肪酸组成优于西门塔尔牛。     

育成荷斯坦奶公牛与其他3个品种牛的肉品质比较研究

通过对育成荷斯坦奶公牛与西门塔尔牛、新疆褐牛及新疆土种牛肉品质部分指标的比较分析研究,旨在探讨荷斯坦奶公牛的肉品质。选择在相同营养模式下18月龄左右4个品种牛各3头进行屠宰,取右半边胴体的背最长肌作为肉品质试验样品,分别对牛肉的肉品质、常规营养成分及氨基酸含量进行测定和分析。结果表明,荷斯坦奶公牛肉色、失水率、系水力、熟肉率、大理石花纹等指标均优于新疆褐牛、新疆土种牛,次于西门塔尔牛;荷斯坦奶公牛嫩度优于新疆土种牛;粗蛋白质、粗灰分含量分别为20.14%、1.11%,且各品种间差异均不显著(P>0.05),干物质含量为26.30%,显著高于新疆褐牛和新疆土种牛(P<0.05),低于西门塔尔牛(P>0.05),粗脂肪含量为10.04%,显著高于其他品种牛(P<0.05);荷斯坦奶公牛含有人体需要的各种氨基酸,其中蛋氨酸、谷氨酸、甘氨酸、组氨酸、牛磺酸等含量丰富,氨基酸组成比例良好。     

Genetic characterization of the Burlina cattle breed using microsatellites markers.

The present study was a contribution on the genetic characterization of the Burlina local cattle breed, and an approach to understanding the relationships between Burlina, Holstein Friesian and Brown Swiss which represent the majority of the dairy cattle reared nowadays in North-East Italy. The obtained results helped to clarify the genetic diversity and distinctiveness of Burlina population. In particular, the low genetic distance between Burlina and Holstein Friesian and the assignment of a moderate percentage of Burlina animals to Holstein Friesian suggested that crosses between them took place in the past, while crosses with Brown Swiss seemed to be less frequent. However, analyses of marker genotypes, showed a cluster with only Burlina individuals, which demonstrates the genetic distinctness of this breed. The Burlina breed showed the highest variability among the analysed breeds and its inbreeding coefficient was low. The data contribute to the feasibility of a conservation and selection programme for this breed and the results are useful for the implementation of a conservation strategy that should aim to conserve animals where the contribution from foreign breeds is as small as possible.     

Genetic and phenotypic parameters for conformation and yield traits in three Swiss dairy cattle breeds

This study presents genetic parameters for conformation traits and their genetic and phenotypic correlations with milk production traits and somatic cell score (SCS) in three Swiss dairy cattle breeds. Data on first lactations from Holstein (67 839), Brown Swiss (173 372) and Red & White breeds (53 784) were available. Analysed conformation traits were stature and heart girth (both in cm), and linear scores of body depth, rump width, dairy character or muscularity, and body condition score (only in Holstein). A sire model, with relationships among sires, was used for all breeds and traits and variance components were estimated using AS‐REML. Heritabilities for stature were high (0.6–0.8), and for the linear type traits ranged from 0.3 to 0.5, for all breeds. Genetic correlations with production traits (milk, fat and protein yield) and SCS differed between the dairy breeds. Most markedly, stronger correlations were found between SCS and some conformation traits in Brown Swiss and Red & White, indicating that a focus on a larger and more ‘dairy’ type in these breeds would lead to increased SCS. Another marked difference was that rump width correlated positively with milk yield traits in Holstein and Red & White, but negative in Brown Swiss. Results indicate that conformation traits generally can be used as predictors for various purposes in dairy cattle breeding, but may require specific adaptation for each breed.     

奶牛杂交群体及其遗传评估的模拟研究

为验证在奶牛杂交群体中将品种组成和杂合度作为协变量的遗传评估理论,为奶牛杂交模式选择和杂交群体遗传评估等实际问题提供理论依据,结合我国奶业现状,本研究模拟了在低产荷斯坦牛群引入法系蒙贝利亚牛、德系西门塔尔牛进行杂交,采用随机交配和三品种轮回杂交模式、群体世代重叠17年的繁育过程.群体杂合度在第7年后趋于平衡,轮回杂交模式的群体杂合度高于随机交配.经过杂交,原中低产荷斯坦牛群体在产奶性能、生长性能方面都有进展,轮回杂交提高幅度相对略高.此外,利用品种效应和杂合度效应剖分杂种优势,采用单性状和多性状动物模型对模拟群体进行遗传评估,效果基本一致,都可以很好地用于杂交群体的遗传评估.结果表明,对荷斯坦牛中低产群体进行杂交,可实现生产性能和效益的提高,回归模型可用于多元群体的遗传评估.     

Development of genetic evaluation for milk production traits of Holsteins in Japan

The procedure used for the genetic evaluation of dairy cattle in Japan has developed from a lactation sire–MGS model to a multiple‐lactation random regression test‐day animal model. Genetic evaluation of Holstein bulls in Japan began in 1989 with the use of field‐style progeny testing; dairy herd improvement program data from all over Japan were used, along with a sire and maternal grandsire model. In 1993, an animal model was introduced to estimate breeding values for yield and type traits. A random regression test‐day model was first applied in 2010. In the business of breeding dairy cattle, it is very important to users that estimated breeding values are reliable and stable among subsequent routine evaluations. With experience in the genetic evaluation of dairy cattle in Japan, Japanese researchers have found ways to improve the stability of estimated breeding values. These modifications involve changes in data editing, development of evaluation models, changes to the structures of unknown‐parent groups, awareness of the problems of predicting lactation yield from partial test‐day records, and adjustment for heterogeneity within herd variances. Here, I introduce developments in, and our experiences with, the genetic evaluation of yield traits of Holstein cattle in Japan.     

Plasma concentration of estrone sulfate during pregnancy in different breeds of Japanese beef cattle

Plasma concentrations of estrone sulfate in different breeds of Japanese beef cattle and the relationship between those concentrations and feto-placental growth were examined in order to assess the possibility of monitoring abnormal growth of the fetus. Blood samples were obtained from cows from day 90 of gestation to parturition. The plasma concentration of estrone sulfate was measured by direct enzyme immunoassay. From day 180 of gestation, the mean concentration of estrone sulfate increased gradually and it was drastically elevated after day 240 of gestation with the maximum at day 285. Plasma concentrations of estrone sulfate on day 240 of gestation was significantly increased in F(1) cows (Holstein Friesian and Japanese Black) compared with those in other breeds of cow. From day 270 to 278 of gestation, estrone sulfate concentrations of Holstein Friesian cows inseminated by Holstein Friesian differed from those inseminated by Japanese Black. In the cow with retained placenta, the plasma concentration of estrone sulfate reached plateau at day 240 of gestation and did not increase thereafter. There was no significant relationship between estrone sulfate concentration and duration of gestation, calf birth weight, weight of placenta or viability of newborn calves. These results indicate that changes of plasma estrone sulfate concentration in Japanese beef cattle are very similar to those in Holstein dairy cattle. They also suggest that the plasma concentration of estrone sulfate is associated with the breed of pregnant cow and that its concentration is also affected by calf birth weight depending on the breed of bull. It seems possible to predict the incidence of retained placenta but not the calf birth weight and viability of newborn calves in Japanese beef cattle.     

Application of highly differentiated SNPs between Japanese Black and Holstein to a breed assignment test between Japanese Black and F1 (Japanese Black x Holstein) and Holstein

Two taurine breeds, Japanese Black and Holstein, established from geographically distant origins and selected for different uses, beef and dairy, were extensively genotyped using a genome‐wide single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) chip with more than 1000 animals of each breed. The genetic structure was examined by principal component analysis, in which the first principal component clearly separated the two breeds and explained more than 15% of the variance. Highly differentiated SNPs were detected throughout the genome, some of which were clustered within small regions on BTA4 (79.2–79.7 Mb, Btau4.0) and BTA26 (22.2–23.6 Mb). A breed assignment test was developed using 18 highly differentiated SNPs to distinguish Japanese Black from F₁ (Japanese Black × Holstein) and Holstein. The error rate that an F₁ or Holstein animal is misjudged as Japanese Black was expected to be < 0.8%, while the error rate that a Japanese Black animal is misjudged as F₁ or Holstein was expected to be < 0.001%. This test provides a reliable and powerful method to detect breed label falsification in retail beef.     

Genomic predictions across Nordic Holstein and Nordic Red using the genomic best linear unbiased prediction model with different genomic relationship matrices

This study investigated genomic predictions across Nordic Holstein and Nordic Red using various genomic relationship matrices. Different sources of information, such as consistencies of linkage disequilibrium (LD) phase and marker effects, were used to construct the genomic relationship matrices (G‐matrices) across these two breeds. Single‐trait genomic best linear unbiased prediction (GBLUP) model and two‐trait GBLUP model were used for single‐breed and two‐breed genomic predictions. The data included 5215 Nordic Holstein bulls and 4361 Nordic Red bulls, which was composed of three populations: Danish Red, Swedish Red and Finnish Ayrshire. The bulls were genotyped with 50 000 SNP chip. Using the two‐breed predictions with a joint Nordic Holstein and Nordic Red reference population, accuracies increased slightly for all traits in Nordic Red, but only for some traits in Nordic Holstein. Among the three subpopulations of Nordic Red, accuracies increased more for Danish Red than for Swedish Red and Finnish Ayrshire. This is because closer genetic relationships exist between Danish Red and Nordic Holstein. Among Danish Red, individuals with higher genomic relationship coefficients with Nordic Holstein showed more increased accuracies in the two‐breed predictions. Weighting the two‐breed G‐matrices by LD phase consistencies, marker effects or both did not further improve accuracies of the two‐breed predictions.     

Pregnancy‐Associated Glycoprotein (PAG) Profile of Holstein–Friesian Cows as Compared to Dual‐Purpose and Beef Cows

Pregnancy‐associated glycoproteins (PAGs) are produced by mono‐ and binucleate trophoblast cells in the ruminant placenta. PAG appears in maternal blood and, from approximately 4 weeks after fertilization onward, may serve as a reliable means of diagnosing pregnancy. A range of factors are said to affect plasma PAG concentrations, such as number and sex of foetus, mass of calf and placenta, level of milk production and genetic constitution. In this study, PAG pregnancy profiles of a dual‐purpose (Simmental) and two beef breeds (Uckermark and Aubrac) are compared with the profile of the specialized dairy breed Holstein–Friesian. Holstein–Friesian cows were sampled weekly; the levels of the other breeds were presented at 3‐week intervals. The overall significant breed difference (p = 0.013) was founded on deviations during the initial 3 weeks of pregnancy and from 23 weeks onward. During the period critical for the detection of pregnancy, between four and 22 weeks, agreement between PAG levels of various breeds was close (p > 0.05). No significant effect of body mass of cow or calf (relative to mass of dam) was detected. These findings imply that the PAG pregnancy test may be executed uniformly irrespective of breed or type of cow, affirming the suitability of the test as a valuable asset for the cattle industry.     

Refined mapping of twinning-rate quantitative trait loci on bovine chromosome 5 and analysis of insulin-like growth factor-1 as a positional candidate gene

Twinning in cattle is a complex trait that is associated with economic loss and health issues such as abortion, dystocia, and reduced calf survival. Twinning-rate QTL have been detected previously on BTA5 in the North American Holstein and Norwegian dairy cattle populations and in a USDA herd selected for high twinning rate. In previous work with the North American Holstein population, the strongest evidence for a QTL was obtained from analysis of an extended, multiple-generation family. Using additional animals, an increased density of SNP marker association tests, and a combined linkage and linkage disequilibrium mapping method, we refined the position of this QTL in the North American Holstein population. Two sets of twinning-rate predicted transmitting abilities estimated during 2 different time periods in the North American dairy cattle population were used to provide validation of results. A total of 106 SNP and 3 microsatellites were used to scan the genomic region between 5 and 80 Mb on BTA5. Combined linkage-linkage disequilibrium analysis identified significant evidence for QTL within the 25- to 35-Mb and 64- to 70-Mb regions of BTA5. The IGF-1 gene (IGF1) was examined as a positional candidate gene and an SNP in intron 2 of IGF1 was significantly associated with twinning rate by using both data sets (P = 0.003 and P = 1.05 x 10(-6)). Replication of this association in other cattle populations will be required to examine the extent of linkage disequilibrium with the underlying quantitative trait nucleotide across breeds.     

Predicting breed composition using breed frequencies of 50,000 markers from the US Meat Animal Research Center 2,000 Bull Project

Knowledge of breed composition can be useful in multiple aspects of cattle production, and can be critical for analyzing the results of whole genome-wide association studies currently being conducted around the world. We examine the feasibility and accuracy of using genotype data from the most prevalent bovine genome-wide association studies platform, the Illumina BovineSNP50 array (Illumina Inc., San Diego, CA), to estimate breed composition for individual breeds of cattle. First, allele frequencies (of Illumina-defined allele B) of SNP on the array for each of 16 beef cattle breeds were defined by genotyping a large set of more than 2,000 bulls selected in cooperation with the respective breed associations to be representative of their breed. With these breed-specific allele frequencies, the breed compositions of approximately 2,000 two-, three-, and four-way cross (of 8 breeds) cattle produced at the US Meat Animal Research Center were predicted by using a simple multiple regression technique or Mendel (http://www.genetics.ucla.edu/software/mendel) and their genotypes from the Illumina BovineSNP50 array, and were then compared with pedigree-based estimates of breed composition. The accuracy of marker-based breed composition estimates was 89% when using either estimation method for all breeds except Angus and Red Angus (averaged 79%), based on comparing estimates with pedigree-based average breed composition. Accuracy increased to approximately 88% when these 2 breeds were combined into an aggregate Angus group. Additionally, we used a subset of these markers, approximately 3,000 that populate the Illumina Bovine3K (Illumina Inc.), to see whether breed composition could be estimated with similar accuracy when using this reduced panel of SNP makers. When breed composition was estimated using only SNP in common with the Bovine 3K array, accuracy was slightly reduced to 83%. These results suggest that SNP data from these arrays could be used to estimate breed composition in most US beef cattle in situations where pedigree is not known (e.g., multiple-sire natural service matings, non-source-verified animals in feedlots or at slaughter). This approach can aid analyses that depend on knowledge of breed composition, including identification and adjustment of breed-based population stratification, when performing genome-wide association studies on populations with incomplete pedigrees. In addition, SNP-based breed composition estimates may facilitate fitting cow germplasm to the environment, managing cattle in the feedlot, and tracing disease cases back to the geographic region or farm of origin.     

Prevalence and risk factors for dystocia in dairy cattle: a review

This review focuses on the case definition of dystocia, its current prevalence and recent temporal trends, the different types of dystocia and their associated risk factors in dairy cattle. The reported dystocia rates in dairy cattle internationally are generally <5%, apart from those in the United States, where they are higher. Given the skewed distribution of herd dystocia rates, average figures mask high prevalence herds. Phenotypic dystocia trends are generally increasing internationally and this trend has been partially attributed to the introduction of Holstein genes. The principal types of dystocia differ between primiparae and pluriparae, with feto-pelvic disproportion (FPD) predominating in the former and fetal malposition in the latter. In order of importance, the two major determinants of FPD are calf birthweight and maternal pelvic size. Abnormal fetal position is most influenced by the number of fetuses, parity and calf sire breed. Adequate weighting of dystocia in selection indices, achievement of heifer rearing targets prior to both service and calving, and appropriate periparturient management decisions are prerequisites for controlling dystocia in dairy cattle.     

Within‐ and across‐breed imputation of high‐density genotypes in dairy and beef cattle from medium‐ and low‐density genotypes

The objective of this study was to evaluate, using three different genotype density panels, the accuracy of imputation from lower‐ to higher‐density genotypes in dairy and beef cattle. High‐density genotypes consisting of 777 962 single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) were available on 3122 animals comprised of 269, 196, 710, 234, 719, 730 and 264 Angus, Belgian Blue, Charolais, Hereford, Holstein‐Friesian, Limousin and Simmental bulls, respectively. Three different genotype densities were generated: low density (LD; 6501 autosomal SNPs), medium density (50K; 47 770 autosomal SNPs) and high density (HD; 735 151 autosomal SNPs). Imputation from lower‐ to higher‐density genotype platforms was undertaken within and across breeds exploiting population‐wide linkage disequilibrium. The mean allele concordance rate per breed from LD to HD when undertaken using a single breed or multiple breed reference population varied from 0.956 to 0.974 and from 0.947 to 0.967, respectively. The mean allele concordance rate per breed from 50K to HD when undertaken using a single breed or multiple breed reference population varied from 0.987 to 0.994 and from 0.987 to 0.993, respectively. The accuracy of imputation was generally greater when the reference population was solely comprised of the breed to be imputed compared to when the reference population comprised of multiple breeds, although the impact was less when imputing from 50K to HD compared to imputing from LD.     

Genetic diversity and assignment tests among seven French cattle breeds based on microsatellite DNA analysis

Genetic variability and relationships among six native French cattle breeds (Abondance, Tarentaise, Villard de Lans, Montbéliarde, Limousin, and Charolais) and one foreign breed (Holstein) were investigated using 23 microsatellite markers. These breeds were also compared with four Swiss breeds genotyped in a previously published study. Interestingly, the French alpine breeds have smaller population sizes but showed higher genetic variability than the larger Holstein breed. Neighbor-joining trees and PCA (principal components analysis) showed that alpine breeds tend to cluster together. Abondance and Tarentaise breeds were closely related, whereas the Holstein was highly differentiated from all breeds analyzed. Two different assignment tests for determining the breed of origin of individuals were compared: "direct" and "exclusion-simulation" approaches. The exclusion-simulation significance test correctly assigns fewer individuals than the direct approach but provides a confidence level (e.g., P < 0.01) for each individual being assigned. Accurate assignment with high statistical confidence is required for animal traceability. Unfortunately, the accuracy of assignment greatly decreases as the threshold level of confidence of assignment increases (e.g., from P < 0.05 to P < 0.001). Assignment accuracy also greatly declines as the level of population differentiation decreases below the level often found between related breeds (e.g., F(ST) < 0.1).     

不同父本冻精杂交甘南牦牛母本围产期疾病发生率分析

[目的]为提高甘南农牧交错区牦牛生产性能筛选最佳杂交父本。[方法]分别选取荷斯坦奶牛、西门塔尔、安格斯、娟姗牛优质冻精杂交甘南牦牛,比较妊娠牦牛的流产率、难产率,产后胎衣不下、子宫内膜炎症的发生率,产后当年与第二年发情的比率。[结果]荷斯坦奶牛、西门塔尔冻精人工授精甘南牦牛时,母本妊娠期的流产率和难产率显著高于安格斯、娟姗牛(P<0.05),荷斯坦奶牛、西门塔尔、安格斯作为父本杂交,母本的产后胎衣不下、子宫内膜炎症发病率显著高于娟姗牛(P<0.05)。娟姗牛冻精人工授精甘南牦牛,母本产后当年与第二年发情的比率分别为39.22±1.65%和35.29±1.84%,显著高于其他种公牛冻精杂交后母本的发情率,且只有娟姗牛试验组当年发情率高于第二年发情率。[结论]娟姗牛为父本时,围产期疾病发生率最低,繁育潜能利用率最高,可作为改良甘南牦牛最佳父本。     

荷斯坦奶牛耐热性状的RAPD标记研究

为了筛选出耐热荷斯坦奶牛的分子遗传标记，并应用这些分子标记进行高产耐热荷斯坦奶牛的选育。从高产奶牛群中筛选出耐热性状差异显著的10头高产荷斯坦牛作为实验材料，采用RAPD作为分子标记筛选方法。优化奶牛RAPD反应最佳体系，并在154条随机引物中筛选出稳定性好、带型清晰的引物64条。通过RAPD结果，并结合红细胞钾测定结果和生产性能进行分析，确定3个分子标记与奶牛耐热性状相关，并对其进行了测序与分析。     

娟姗牛和荷斯坦牛主要疾病发病情况对比——以云南鹤庆县为例

[目的]比较娟姗牛和荷斯坦牛在养殖过程中的发病情况。[方法]收集、整理鹤庆县欧亚牧场2021年成年母牛发病率较高的8 种疾病和犊牛发病率较高的3 种疾病的月报表数据,用SPSS软件对试验数据进行统计分析。[结果]娟姗牛酮病、产后瘫痪和前胃弛缓的年平均发病率与荷斯坦牛无显著差异（P>0.05）,真胃移位、子宫炎、胎衣不下、乳房炎和肢蹄病的年平均发病率极显著低于荷斯坦牛（P<0.01）。娟姗牛犊牛肺炎、感冒年平均发病率与荷斯坦牛无显著差异（P>0.05）,而犊牛肺炎年平均发病率显著低于荷斯坦牛（P<0.05）。[结论]同等饲养管理条件下,娟姗牛抗病力较荷斯坦牛强。