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Functional melanocytes in the epidermis are required for cutaneous pigmentation in cattle. In spotted cattle variations in the size of pigmented sectors are of interest to animal researchers, as it is believed that those with a higher proportion of white coat absorb less solar radiation. The proportion of unpigmented coat was determined from photographs of German Simmental and Holstein bulls. The receptor tyrosinase kinase (KIT) locus is associated with depigmentation phenotypes in mice, humans and pigs, and it is suggested that KIT is a candidate gene for the degree of spotting in cattle.

The analysis of 16 paternal half-sib families of the Holstein breed with 872 sons and 264 genetic markers is studied to detect QTL affecting body conformation and the behavior in dairy cattle. This study provides the first evidence for QTL involved in behavior of dairy cattle and also identifies QTL for udder conformation on chromosome 6 that could form the basis of recently reported QTL for clinical mastitis.

The detection and mapping of polymorphisms in the bovine lactoperoxidase gene and in the glycosylation-dependent cell adhesion molecule 1 gene are presented. Probing was done by using fluorescent single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis. The source and description of probe, primer sequences, methods of detection, description of polymorphism, inheritance pattern, allele frequencies and chromosomal location are discussed.