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A total of 3,050 German Angus (Aberdeen Angus x German dual-purpose breeds), Charolais, Hereford, Limousin, and German Simmental calves were used to examine temperament traits of beef cattle using 2 different test procedures. The chute test and the flight-speed test have been validated in terms of routine on-farm applicability. Behavior tests were performed in 2006 and 2007 on 24 commercial beef cattle farms located in the northern and eastern part of Germany. A single, trained observer assigned subjective scores to characterize the behavior of each animal during restraint in the head gate (calm, restless shifting, squirming, vigorous movement, violent struggling) and when leaving the chute (walk, trot, run, jumping out of the chute). Breed was a significant source of variation in chute scores and flight-speed scores (P < 0.001). Charolais and Limousin cattle had the greatest scores in both traits, whereas Herefords had the least (P < 0.001) chute scores. German Angus and Hereford calves had the least (P < 0.001) flight-speeds, indicating that these breeds have a more favorable temperament. Temperament scores differed significantly between male and female calves (P < 0.01), with females scoring better for both traits. Average daily BW gains of the calves were significantly influenced by effects of breed (P < 0.001) and sex (P < 0.001) of the calves. Heritabilities were estimated for chute- and flight-speed scores of beef cattle. They were least for chute score and flight-speed score of Limousin cattle with values of 0.11. In contrast, greatest heritabilities were 0.33 for chute score and 0.36 for flight-speed score of Hereford cattle. Genetic correlations were estimated among both temperament traits, with values between 0.57 and 0.98. Chute scores and visual flight-speed scores were negatively correlated with daily BW gain of the calves in most breeds. The results presented in this paper indicate that on-farm evaluation of beef cattle temperament is possible, either using the chute test or the flight-speed test. Genetic selection seems to be promising to improve temperament traits of beef cattle without decreasing production traits like ADG of the calves. Key words: beef cattle, behavior test, flight speed, production trait, temperament doi: 10.2527/jas.2008-1557

Data from pure breeds, as well as reciprocal crosses of German Angus (GA) and Simmental (SIM) beef cattle, were used to estimate genetic parameters and to evaluate the suitability for crossbreeding in terms of increasing productivity. Traits of interest were calving difficulty, birth weight (BWT), weaning weight (WWT), and ADG from birth to weaning. Data were collected over a period of 7 yr from 1997 and 1998 until 2003 and 2004, whereas crossbreeding was carried out in 2002 and 2003, and 2003 and 2004 only. Variance components and differences between breeds, individual heterosis, and maternal breed effects were analyzed based on 1,441 purebred and 329 crossbred records for BWT and 1,319 purebred and 316 crossbred records for WWT and ADG, respectively. Mean calv ing difficulty scores were greater in SIM than in GA (P < 0.001). For BWT, WWT, and ADG both reciprocal crosses fell between the purebreds, and for all 3 traits SIM showed greater average values compared with GA. The estimated heritabilities were 0.23 for BWT and 0.12 for WWT. Values for the maternal effect and the correlation between additive and maternal effect were 0.18 for BWT, 0.08 for WWT, 0.32 for BWT, and 0.50 for WWT, respectively. Individual heterosis was only significant for BWT (3.7%; P < 0.01). Superior mothering ability of SIM was implicated by greater WWT and ADG of SIM as dam against the reciprocal cross (P < 0.001). The results provide information about the extent of individual heterosis and maternal breed effects. Key words: beef cattle, crossbreeding, genetic parameter, German Angus, preweaning period, Simmental doi: 10.2527/jas.2008-1742

Recent publications indicate genetic variation in milk production traits on proximal BTA14, which cannot be explained solely with genetic variation in the DGAT1 gene. To elucidate these QTL effects, animals from a German Holstein granddaughter design (18 families, 1,291 sons) were genotyped for CYP11B1 (V30A) and DGAT1 (K232A) polymorphisms. Frequencies of alleles of maternal descent were estimated for [CYP11B1.sup.V] (0.776) and [DGAT1.sup.K] (0.549). Allele substitution effects ([alpha]/2) were first calculated for both alleles in separate models and then in a joint model. From the joint analysis, [CYP11B1.sup.V] effects on fat content (+0.04%) and protein content (+0.01%) were positive. Effects on milk yield (-82 kg), fat yield (-0.5 kg), and protein yield (-1.9 kg) were negative. Compared with the individual analysis, DGAT1K effects on fat content (+0.28%), protein content (+0.06%), and milk yield (-258 kg) were reduced; fat yield (+10.8 kg) was enhanced; and protein yield (-3.8 kg) was reduced. In the joint analysis, allele substitution effects of [CYP11B1.sup.v] and [DGAT1.sup.K] together explained more of the variation in milk production traits than [DGAT1.sup.K] alone. Further significant effects were found for [CYP11B1.sup.V] and [DGAT1.sup.K] among 6 reproduction traits and 14 conformational traits. These observations indicate a possible negative influence of [DGAT1.sup.K] on maternal nonreturn rate, and thus, on length of productive life. Key words: BTA14, CYP11B1, DGAT1, milk production trait, quantitative trait locus

Various QTL mapping experiments led to the detection of a QTL in the centromeric region of cattle chromosome 14 that had a major effect on the fat content of milk. Recently, the gene encoding diacylglycerol O-acyltransferase (DGAT1) was proposed to be a positional and functional candidate for this trait. This study investigated the effects of a nonconservative lysine to alanine (K232A) substitution in DGAT1, which very likely represents the causal mutation, on milk production traits. Existing granddaughter designs for Fleckvieh and German Holstein, the two major dairy/ dual-purpose breeds in Germany, were used to estimate allele frequencies and gene substitution effects for milk, fat, and protein yield, as well as fat and protein content. A restriction fragment length polymorphism assay was applied to diagnose the K232A substitution in DGAT1. Estimates of the allele frequencies for the lysine-encoding variant were based on maternally inherited alleles in sons and amounted to 0.072 for Fleckvieh and 0.548 for German Holstein. Effects of DGAT1 variants on content traits were pronounced; estimates of the gene substitution effect for the lysine-encoding variant were 0.35 and 0.28% for fat content and 0.10 and 0.06% for protein content in Fleckvieh and German Holstein, respectively. Conversely, negative effects of the lysine variant of-242 to -180 kg for Fleckvieh and -260 to -320 kg for German Holstein were revealed for milk yield from first to third lactation, resulting in enhanced fat yield of 7.5 to 14.8 kg in Fleckvieh and 7.6 to 10.7 kg in German Holstein. For protein yield, however, mainly negative effects of -3.6 to 0.2 kg in Fleckvieh and -4.8 to -5.2 kg in German Holstein were observed. Pearson correlations between residuals of milk yield and content traits were decreased when omitting DGAT1 effects in the analysis, thereby indicating that DGAT1 contributes to negative correlations between these traits. Molecular tests allow for the direct selection among variants; however, the benefits of the alternative alleles depend on economic weights given to the different milk production traits in the breeding goal. Key Words: Cattle, Gene Expression, Gene Mapping, Milk Production Characteristics, Substitution

Name of Gene. Inhibin-[Alpha] (INHA). Genus and Species. Capra hircus. Source and Description of Primers. The primers were designed from the flanking sequences of a [(TG).sub.n], microsatellite identified in a 2.2-kb PstI fragment of an ovine cosmid clone, containing the INHA gene (Jager and Hiendleder, 1994). Primer Sequences. Forward Primer: 5'-AGCGTGTGAAGCTGGAGAT-3'; reverse Primer 5'-ACGTGATCACTACCACAGTACGGA-3'. Method of Detection. The PCR (15-[micro]L final volume) was performed using 50 to 100 ng of caprine genomic DNA, 10 pM of each primer, 200 [micro]M of each dNTP, .4 unit of Taq polymerase (AGS, Heidelberg), 1.5 mM [MgCl.sub.2], and PCR buffer (20 mM Tris-HCl, pH 8.55; 1.6 mM [NH.sub.4] [SO.sub.4]). Thermal cycling began with an initial cycle of 94 [degrees] C (1.5 min), followed by 30 cycles of 94 [degrees] C (1 min), 60 [degrees] C (1 min), and 72 [degrees] C (1 min), and concluded with a final extension at 72 [degrees] C (5 min) using a Perkin Elmer Gene Amp PCR system 9600 cycler. For obtaining the allele frequency data, the forward primer was Cy5 fluorescence end-labeled (Amersham-Pharmacia, Freiburg) and the analyses were done using an automated laser detection system (A.L.F. express, Amersham Pharmacia, Freiburg). Amplification of caprine genomic DNA resulted in 210- to 230-bp products that were run on a 5.5% Long Ranger gel (.5 mm, 6 M urea). The genotyping for linkage mapping was done by incorporation of radioactive gamma [P.sup.33] according to Schibler et al. (1998). Description of Polymorphism. The microsatellite containing amplification products showed fragment lengths indicating repeat numbers ranging from [(TG).sub.12] to [(TG).sub.22]. Inheritance Pattern. Codominant inheritance was observed in 12 families. Frequency. The frequencies of alleles in a total of 25 unrelated animals from different breeds (Wei [Beta] e Deutsche Edelziege, Bunte Deutsche Edelziege, Burenziege, Toggenburger Ziege) were .091, .432, .114, .114, .068, .136, and .045 for fragments of 210, 214, 216, 218, 224, 226, and 230 bp. The calculated heterozygosity and PIC (Botstein et al., 1980) in these animals were .75 and .73, respectively. Chromosomal Location. Previous physical mapping by FISH has placed INHA on caprine chromosome 2q41-42 (Goldammer et al., 1995). Linkage Mapping. Significant linkages between the polymorphic INHA-microsatellite and gene markers on chromosome 2 were found using CRI-MAP, version 2.4 (Greene et al., 1989). In the male linkage analysis, the significant two-point LOD scores reported ranged from 3.52 to 7.65 (Table 1). The identified microsatellite was placed in a chromosomal region containing the microsatellite loci ARO 28, BMS 829A, and BMS 829B by multipoint analysis between 110 and 130 cM on chromosome 2, where the microsatellites BMS 829A and BMS 829B were amplified using the same primer pair. Table 1. Results of two-point linkage analyses between the identified microsatellite and genetic markers on goat chromosome 2 Recombination LOD Coinformative Marker fraction score meioses IDVGA37 .18 3.52 67 McM512 .14 6.6 63 BMS829A .10 4.25 41 BMS829B .05 7.65 29 Comments. The PCR product was cloned into the vector pCR 2.1 TOPO (Invitrogen, Leek) and sequenced to confirm homology to the original ovine sequence (GenBank accession no. AF115342) obtained from the ovine cosmid clone. The sequence similarity in microsatellite flanking regions between ovine and caprine loci was 88%. Inhibin is a glycoprotein hormone that suppresses pituitary follicle stimulating hormone secretion (Ling et al., 1985). Two different inhibins have been identified sharing a common [Alpha]-subunit but different [Beta]-subunits ([[Beta].sub.A] and [[Beta].sub.B]). The two forms of inhibin are named with inhibin A ([[Alpha]-[Beta].sub.A]]) and inhibin B ([[Alpha]-[Beta].sub.B]) (Mason et al., 1985). The subunits of inhibin A and B are encoded in three different, independent genes, INHA, INHBA, and INHBB (Findlay et al., 1993). Literature Cited Botstein, D., R. L. White, M. Skolnick, and R. W. Davis. 1980. Construction of a genetic linkage map in man using restriction fragment length polymorphisms. Am. J. Hum. Genet. 32:314-331. Findlay, J. K., S. Xiao, L. Shukovski, and U. Michel. 1993. Novel peptides in ovarian physiology--inhibin, activin and follistatin. In: E. Y. Adashi and P. C. K. Leung (ed.) The Ovary. pp 413-432. Raven Press, New York. Green, P., K. Falls, and S. Crooks. 1989. Documentation for CRIMAP, version 2.4. Washington University, St. Louis, MO. Goldammer, T., R. M. Brunner, S. Hiendleder, and M. Schwerin. 1995. Comparative mapping of sheep inhibin subunits [Alpha] (INHA) and [[Beta].sub.B] (INHBB) to chromosome 2 in goat by FISH. Mamm. Genome 6:685-686. Jager, C., and S. Hiendleder. 1994. Cosmid cloning and characterization of the coding regions and regulatory elements of the ovine [Alpha]- (INHA), [[Alpha].sub.A]-(INHBA) and [[Beta].sub.B]-inhibin (INHBB) genes. Anim. Genet. 25(Suppl. 2):33. Ling, N. 1985. Isolation and patial characterization of a Mr 32000 protein with inhibin activity from porcine follicular fluid. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 82:7217-7221. Mason, A. J., J. S. Hayflick, N. Ling, F. Esch, N. Ueno, S.-Y. Ying, R. Guillemin, H. Niall, and P. H. Seeburg. 1985. Complementary DNA sequences of ovarian follicular fluid inhibin show precursor structure and homology with transforming growth factor-[Beta]. Nature (Lond.) 318:659-663. Schibler, L., D. Vaiman, A. Oustry, C. Giraud-Delville, and E. P. Cribiu. 1998. Comparative gene mapping: a fine-scale survey of chromosome rearrangements between ruminants and humans. Genome Res. 8:901-915. Key Words: Goats, Linkage Groups, Microsatellites

Research was conducted to examine the adrenocorticotropic hormone receptor gene locus. Hybridization experiments were performed on human genomic clones of 1 kb and 2.9 kb to detect polymorphism. A 2-kb rat cDNA was used as a control for the neural melanocortin receptor. Results indicate that adrenocorticotropin induces steroid hormone production in the adrenal gland through specific cell surface receptors.

The objectives of this study were to investigate milk casein polymorphisms in dams and to determine the impacts of maternal casein genotypes on growth traits of their sucking calves. Milk samples from 433 dams of the breeds German Angus (GA) and German Simmental (GS) were typed at the milk protein loci α s1-casein (αs1-CN), β-casein (β-CN), α s2-casein (αs2-CN), and κ-casein (κ-CN) via isoelectric focusing. Associations between casein genotypes in maternal milk with growth traits of their 1,872 calves were analyzed until the age of weaning using linear mixed models, considering either genotypes of individual casein loci (model 1) or composite α s1-β-α s2-κ-CN genotypes within the casein cluster (model 2). Besides environmental effects such as sex, age of the dam, and calving year-season, genetic effects (breed group and maternal and paternal effects) were considered in statistical models. The composite casein genotype BBǀA2A2ǀAAǀAB (order of genes on bovine chromosome 6: α s1-ǀβ-ǀα s2-ǀκ-CN) was associated with greater average daily weight gains (ADG) and heavier age-adjusted weaning weights (WW) of calves (P < 0.05). The effects of composite genotypes on birth weight of calves were similar (P > 0.05; model 2). With regard to individual casein loci, greater ADG and WW were observed for calves from dams with the genotypes κ-CN BB and α s1-CN BB, respectively (P < 0.05; model 1). Age-adjusted WW was largest for calves from dams carrying the κ-CN genotype BB (215 kg) compared with calves representing the maternal AB and AA genotypes (both 204 kg). Results from the present study suggested selectable casein genotypes due to their nutritional value of milk (value in terms of offspring performances), offering new perspectives for breeding strategies in beef cattle to improve preweaning calf performance., (© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Society of Animal Science. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Levels of lactoferrin, an Fe-binding protein with bacteriostatic properties, were determined in the colostrum and milk of Yorkshire sows during a 21-d lactation. Lactoferrin levels averaged 1,100 to 1,300 micrograms/ml near the time of farrowing, then declined sharply during the first week of lactation. Concentration of lactoferrin showed considerable variation among sows, but not among teat positions (anterior to posterior). A method for isolating high purity swine lactoferrin is described.