Genome-wide association study for longevity with whole-genome sequencing in 3 cattle breeds.
Longevity is an important economic trait in dairy production. Improvements in longevity could increase the average number of lactations per cow, thereby affecting the profitability of the dairy cattle industry. Improved longevity for cows reduces the replacement cost of stock and enables animals to achieve the highest production period. Moreover, longevity is an indirect indicator of animal welfare. Using whole-genome sequencing variants in 3 dairy cattle breeds, we carried out an association study and identified 7 genomic regions in Holstein and 5 regions in Red Dairy Cattle that were associated with longevity. Meta-analyses of 3 breeds revealed 2 significant genomic regions, located on chromosomes 6 (META-CHR6-88MB) and 18 (META-CHR18-58MB). META-CHR6-88MB overlaps with 2 known genes: neuropeptide G-protein coupled receptor (NPFFR2; 89,052,210-89,059,348 bp) and vitamin D-binding protein precursor (GC; 88,695,940-88,739,180 bp). The NPFFR2 gene was previously identified as a candidate gene for mastitis resistance. META-CHR18-58MB overlaps with zinc finger protein 717 (ZNF717; 58,130,465-58,141,877 bp) and zinc finger protein 613 (ZNF613; 58,115,782-58,117,110 bp), which have been associated with calving difficulties. Information on longevity-associated genomic regions could be used to find causal genes/variants influencing longevity and exploited to improve the reliability of genomic prediction.
Center for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, DK-8830 Tjele, Denmark; Animal Breeding and Genomics Centre, Wageningen UR Livestock Research, 6700 AH Wageningen, the Netherlands. Electronic address: qianqian.zhang@mbg.au.dk.
Qianqian
Q
Zhang
Center for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, DK-8830 Tjele, Denmark.
Bernt
B
Guldbrandtsen
Center for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, DK-8830 Tjele, Denmark; VikingGenetics, Assentoft, DK-8960 Randers, Denmark.
Jørn Rind
JR
Thomasen
Center for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, DK-8830 Tjele, Denmark.
Mogens Sandø
MS
Lund
Center for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, DK-8830 Tjele, Denmark.
Goutam
G
Sahana
D000818:Animals; D001947:Breeding; D002417:Cattle / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D056726:Genetic Association Studies; D005819:Genetic Markers; D023281:Genomics; D059014:High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing; D008136:Longevity / Q000235:genetics*; D008414:Mastitis, Bovine / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics; D015201:Meta-Analysis as Topic; D008954:Models, Biological; D010641:Phenotype; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D040641:Quantitative Trait Loci; D012097:Repressor Proteins; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D005819:Genetic Markers; D012097:Repressor Proteins
cattle; genome-wide association study; longevity; whole-genome sequencing