title: Use of single nucleotide polymorphisms in candidate genes associated with daughter pregnancy rate for prediction of genetic merit for reproduction in Holstein cows.
abstract: We evaluated 69 SNPs in genes previously related to fertility and production traits for their relationship to daughter pregnancy rate (DPR), cow conception rate (CCR) and heifer conception rate (HCR) in a separate population of Holstein cows grouped according to their predicted transmitting ability (PTA) [≤-1 (n = 1287) and ≥1.5 (n = 1036)] for DPR. Genotyping was performed using Sequenom MassARRAY(®) . There were a total of 39 SNPs associated with the three fertility traits. The SNPs that explained the greater proportion of the genetic variation for DPR were COQ9 (3.2%), EPAS1 (1.0%), CAST (1.0%), C7H19orf60 (1.0%) and MRPL48 (1.0%); for CCR were GOLGA4 (2.4%), COQ9 (1.8%), EPAS1 (1.1%) and MRPL48 (0.8%); and for HCR were HSD17B7 (1.0%), AP3B1 (0.8%), HSD17B12 (0.7%) and CACNA1D (0.6%). Inclusion of 39 SNPs previously associated with DPR in the genetic evaluation system increased the reliability of PTA for DPR by 0.20%. Many of the genes represented by SNPs associated with fertility are involved in steroidogenesis or are regulated by steroids. A large proportion of SNPs previously associated with genetic merit for fertility in Holstein bulls maintained their association in a separate population of cows. The inclusion of these genes in genetic evaluation can improve reliabilities of genomic estimates for fertility.
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Sciences, D.H. Barron Reproductive and Perinatal Biology Research Program and Genetics Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Ortega
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Sciences, D.H. Barron Reproductive and Perinatal Biology Research Program and Genetics Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Denicol
authors.affiliation: Animal Genomics and Improvement Laboratory, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, MD, USA.
authors.forename: J B
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1242-4401
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Cole
authors.affiliation: Animal Genomics and Improvement Laboratory, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, MD, USA.
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Null
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Sciences, D.H. Barron Reproductive and Perinatal Biology Research Program and Genetics Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Hansen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility / Q000235:genetics*; D005787:Gene Frequency; D005838:Genotype; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D011247:Pregnancy; D018873:Pregnancy Rate; D011270:Pregnancy, Animal / Q000235:genetics*
keywords: dairy cow; fertility; genetic evaluation and reproduction; single nucleotide polymorphisms