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Genome-wide association study (GWAS) was used to detect candidate genes affecting economic traits in livestock. GWAS can detect single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in all chromosome regions. This study aimed to determine the genetic markers for body weight by GWAS in native cattle breeds of Indonesia. The Illumina Bovine 50K BeadChip was used to determine the candidate genes in three mixed-sex Indonesian cattle breeds of Bali (16 animals), Madura (16 animals), and Ongole grade (13 animals). All animals were raised at the Pasuruan Regency, East Java, Indonesia breeding station. The GWAS was performed in pooled sample of animals (45 animals) with the general linear model (GLM) method using SNP markers with minimum allele frequency (MAF) values more than 0.05 by TASSEL 5.0. software. Therefore, the body weight of cattle at 1 to 3 years of age was collected for each animal for computing Manhattan plot graphics. This research found that SUGT1, SF3A3, and DSCAM genes were detected as potential genetic markers for body weight in cattle breeds of Indonesia. The SUGT1 and DSCAM genes were monomorphic in Bali cattle (Bos javanicus). In addition, both genes were significantly associated (P<0.05) with the body weight of Ongole-grade cattle (Bos indicus) at three years of age. However, the SF3A3 gene was significantly (P<0.05) associated with body weight of Madura cattle (Bos indicus) at 2 and 3 years of age. In conclusion, the GWAS of pool animals reveals three candidate genes significantly associated with body weight in many cattle breeds of Indonesia. Further study to detect SNPs in candidate genes with sequencing method is essential to apply these findings practically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aimed to develop a method for predicting the body weight of beef cattle using meta-analysis based on digital image processing. Materials and Methods: The meta-analysis process commenced by collecting studies with the keywords "beef cattle," "correlation," "digital image," and "body weight" from Google Scholar and Science Direct. The obtained studies were reviewed papers based on their titles, abstracts, and content, and then categorized by authors, year, country, sample size, and correlation coefficient. A digital image of body measurements used included wither and hip height, chest depth, heart girth, body length, and top view. The statistical analysis was conducted by calculating effect sizes using the correlation coefficient and sample sizes. Results: The results of the meta-analysis, based on 3,017 cattle from 13 selected studies, showed the highest and lowest correlation coefficients for the top view variable and hip height. Based on cattle breed, significant differences (p < 0.05) were observed in the wither height variable with correlation coefficients of 0.94, 0.79, and 0.66 for Hanwoo, Holstein, and Simmental, respectively. Based on sex, significant differences (p < 0.05) were seen in the wither height variable, with correlation coefficients of 0.73 for males and 0.90 for females, while for hip height, the values were 0.70 and 0.87, respectively. Conclusion: In conclusion, to achieve the best accuracy in predicting the body weight of beef cattle based on a digital image, the top view variable can be used. However, for ease of field experimentation, body length or chest depth can also be used while taking breed and sex categories into the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While genetic markers related to meat production traits have been identified in many other cattle breeds, research on weight in Hanwoo cattle (Korean native cattle) is still insufficient. In this study, we performed expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) analysis and differential gene expression analysis to detect candidate genes influencing the weight characteristics of 32 castrated Hanwoo cattle across 22 tissues and, we identified variants that affect gene expression levels. In total, we identified a total of 3,298 differentially expressed genes, among which we discovered key genes such as UBD, RGS2, FASN, and SCD that have functions related to adipogenesis, body weight, obesity, and lipid metabolism. Gene-set enrichment analysis revealed that candidate genes in adipose tissue are involved in metabolic pathways linked to obesity-related traits, adipose metabolism, and lipid metabolism. Additionally, we found that decreased expression of TRIM31 contributes to weight gain which can be explained by the associated candidate cis-eQTL genotypes for TRIM31 and their effect on differential gene expression between the lower and higher weight groups. Our findings revealed candidate genes associated with the weight of Hanwoo cattle and perhaps can provide comprehensive insights into the association of weight with various tissues beyond adipose tissue andmuscle, indicating the potential for expanding the focus of livestock trait research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beef is an indispensable source of protein for humans. The production is increased in recent years with the effect of increasing population. Besides of beef cattle breeds, male calves of dairy breeding and combined productive animals are also been fattened. The aim of the study investigate the carcass yield and characteristics of the some beef cattles. In the study hot carcass weights, carcass characteristics and skin weights of 588 male Holstein, Brown-Swiss, Simmental and Montbeliarde cattle breeds raised in Amasya region were used. For this purpose, the hot carcass weight data was taken at the slaughterhouse shortly after dressing and the weights of mince, cubed meat, steak, tenderloin, ribeye at the chilled carcass and skin weights of the beef cattle raised by the members of the Amasya Cattle Breeders Association were investigated. Slaughtered animals were fed mainly concentrated feed with commercial fattening feed. The hot carcass weights of slaughtered animals in Holstein, Brown-Swiss, Simmental and Montbeliarde cattle breeds were 343.70±3.12 kg, 319.80±15.50 kg, 336.56±3.58 kg and 349.44±6.06 kg respectively. The hot carcass weights of the animals according to age of 13-15 months, 16-18 months, 19-21 months, 22-24 months and +24 months were 316.44±8.20, 337.44±3.18, 342.00±3.62, 339.98±5.48 and 370.35±9.11 kg respectively. While the effect of breed on hot carcass weight was insignificant (p>0.05), the effect of age was significant (p<0.05). The breed and age interaction were significant (p<0.05). The highest skin weight was determined in the Simmental breed, and the lowest in the Holstein breed. While the effect of breed on mince, cubed meat, steak, tenderloin fillet was insignificant (p>0.05) and it was significant on ribeye (p<0.05). However, while the effect of age on mince, cubed meat, steak, tenderloin was significant (p<0.05), it was not significant on ribeye (p>0.05). As a result of the study, it was evaluated that different breeds reached their target slaughter weights in different times, and that breeders determine the target slaughter time according to carcass yield rather than age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of the study was to use a meta-analysis to identify the correlation between linear body measurements, including body length (BL), wither height (WH), heart girth (HG), and body volume (BV), and body weight in beef cattle by breed, sex, and age as categories. Materials and Methods: These results can be used as a method for predicting beef cattle body weight. This study used systematic review and meta-analysis guidelines to create a checklist. The first stage was searching for papers relevant to the study objectives. The second stage was searching using the keywords beef cattle, body weight, body measurement, and correlation. The third stage was reviewing the title and abstract. The fourth stage was abstracting information from selected papers, and the last stage was tabulating data. Results: The results from this study were obtained, and 32 papers were eligible for the meta-analysis stage. The correlation between linear body measurement and body weight of beef cattle showed that HG (r = 0.88) and BV (r = 0.97) were significantly (p < 0.05) different compared to BL (r = 0.74) and WH (r = 0.72). The correlation between HG and body weight, and the categorization of cattle breeds showed significantly (p < 0.05) different results. The correlation between BV and body weight of cattle according to breed categories showed results that were not significantly (p > 0.05) different, while age was significantly (p < 0.05). Conclusion: In conclusion, to predict beef cattle body weight, it is necessary to use HG or BV, with breed, sex, and age of cattle as categories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Measurement of weight provides the basis of most performance-recording schemes for beef cattle around the world. The limitation of faster growth rate as a breeding objective, without considering changes in mature-cow weight, is the expected increase in cow size and, hence, feed requirements. Aims: To measure the correlated changes in feed intake and efficiency of cows, calves and the cow–calf unit following divergent selection for growth rate. Methods: The cows and their calves came from three lines of Angus cattle selected for either fast weight gain to yearling age (the High-line), slow weight gain (the Low-line), or from an unselected Control-line. Efficiency was evaluated over an annual production cycle. Individual cow weights and feed intakes, and calf growth and feed intake (including milk), were recorded. Milk production, milk composition and body composition were also measured so that correlated changes in efficiency of use of energy and nitrogen could be determined. Key results: The High-line cows were 18% (P < 0.05) heavier than the Low-line cows at the start and consumed 7% (P < 0.05) more feed than did the Low-line cows. Feed efficiency of the cow–calf unit was 12% higher (P < 0.05) in the High-line cows and calves than in the Low-line cows and calves. When compared on the basis of feed used relative to their weight and weight gain there was no difference (P > 0.05) between the selection lines. Divergent selection was accompanied by a change in body composition, with the High-line cows containing proportionally less protein and more fat in their bodies than did the Low-line cows. There was no evidence for change in the efficiency of feed energy use, but there was a 10% (P < 0.05) improvement in nitrogen efficiency of the cow–calf unit in the High-line compared with the Low-line. Conclusions: Divergent selection for weight gain led to a correlated change in cow size and cow feed requirements. Implications: This experiment supported the consensus among earlier reviews that there is little evidence that selection for growth rate or size, without moderating change in mature-cow weight, is associated with improved efficiency of feed energy use in maternal beef breeds. Breeding cattle for faster weight gain is effective in changing the size of animals, but can increase cow size and feed requirements, which may be undesirable. This experiment showed that selection for growth rate increased cow size and feed intake, with improvement in the feed efficiency, but not energy efficiency, of the cow–calf unit. Breeding programs that are accompanied by an increase in cow size need to be cognizant of the increase in cow feed requirement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to determine the effects of DL-malic acid supplementation in beef cattle rations containing high concentrated feed and dry forage (alfalfa hay and wheat straw) on fattening performance, carcass traits and rumen parameters. In present study, 47 male beef cattle (19 Simmental, 28 Limousine) at the age of 14-16 months were used. Cattle breeds were divided into two groups (0 and 30 g/day of DL-malic acid). In the present study, the differences in live weights, daily live weight gains and carcass weights of the control and DL-malic acid groups were found to be significant in Simmental breed (P<0.05), but insignificant in Limousine breed. The beef cattle body measurements (withers height, chest girth, rump height, body length) did not change with malic acid supplementation (P>0.05).The malic acid addition increased the molarities of acetic, butyric, propionic and total volatile fatty acids (TVFA) and acetic acid/ propionic acid ratio in the rumen fluid (P<0.05).The addition of malic acid had no significant effect on the number of ciliated protozoa (Entodinium, Diplodinium, Isotricha and Dasytricha) and total bacteria count in the rumen fluid (P>0.05). As a result, DL-malic acid supplementation to beef cattle ration varied with cattle breeds in terms of fattening performance, while such supplementations had positive effect on fattening in Simmental breed. Besides, the increase in TVFA and acetic, propionic and butyric acids, which are indicators of fiber and carbohydrate fermentation efficiency in the rumen, shows that malic acid has a positive effect on feed digestion in the rumen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The genome-wide association study is popularly used to identify markers associated with high economic traits in cattle breeds worldwide. However, this method has never been applied to Bali cattle (Bos javanicus), which are indigenous to Indonesia. Therefore, this study aimed to determine whether the GWAS can also be employed to figure out genomic regions potentially affecting Bali cattle's birth weight trait. In this study, phenotypic and genotypic data of 48 Bali cattle were used to figure out genomic regions which are potentially affecting the birth weight trait of Bali cattle. Those samples were genotyped using an Illumina bead chip array with 53.218 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). The estimation of the variance proportion explained by each SNP was conducted by a restricted maximum likelihood (REML) approach. The result showed that the birth weight trait in Bali cattle was affected by multiple regions dispersed over the genome, especially chromosomes 20 and 21. This study demonstrated that GWAS can be used effectively and discovered two intriguing regions related to quantitative trait loci and genes, namely STXBP6 and TERT, which previously had been linked to cattle birth weight and growth. These findings are important for developing and refining genomic-based selection programs for Bali cattle in Indonesia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Weight information is important in cattle breeding because it can measure animal growth and be used to calculate the appropriate amount of daily feed. To estimate the weight, we developed an image-based method that does not stress cattle and requires no manual labor. From a 2D image, a mask was obtained by segmenting the animal and background, and weights were estimated using a deep neural network with residual connections by extracting weight-related features from the segmentation mask. Two image segmentation methods, fully and weakly supervised segmentation, were compared. The fully supervised segmentation method uses a Mask R-CNN model that learns the ground truth mask generated by labeling as the correct answer. The weakly supervised segmentation method uses an activation visualization map that is proposed in this study. The first method creates a more precise mask, but the second method does not require ground truth segmentation labeling. The body weight was estimated using statistical features of the segmented region. In experiments, the following performance results were obtained: a mean average error of 17.31 kg and mean absolute percentage error of 5.52% for fully supervised segmentation, and a mean average error of 35.91 kg and mean absolute percentage error of 10.1% for the weakly supervised segmentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Aubrac is a French breed of domestic beef cattle, becoming a major interest for cattle breeders in our country. Being a large breed of cattle, cows weigh is between 650-800 kilograms and bulls between 1,000-1200 kg. Body conformation is one of the main criteria for assessing bovine animals from a zootechnical and economic point of view. The notion of body conformation in cattle means the overall external appearance of the examined bovine, with reference to the development of each body region separately. The method of body measurements consists in the direct measurement, on the animal, of the different body and mass dimensions. With the help of these measurements, we can appreciate the development and connection of different body regions or segments that make up the whole body and the general development of the animal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Objectives] In order to better understand the performance of Kongshan cattle, their growth and development was analyzed. [Methods] The body weights of 106 kongshan cattle at different month ages were measured, and the growth curves and body measurement indices of Kongshan cattle after one year old were analyzed by SPPS18. 0. [Results] Kongshan cattle have good body shape. Compared with 1985, the performance of body measurements and weight was improved significantly; and the body measurements and body weight of Kongshan cattle increased significantly after 24 months old, indicating that Kongshan cattle still have good fattening performance in adulthood. [ Conclusions] This study analyzed the growth and development laws of Kongshan cattle and the status quo of the population, and will provide some help for the selection and utilization of Kongshan cattle breed more intuitively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research was carried out with the purpose of estimating hot carcass weight by using parameters such as race, carcass weight and age with Multivariate Adaptive Regression Spline (MARS) algorithm. To achieve this goal, 700 cattle data belonging to the years 2017-2018, which were taken in equal numbers from 7 different breeds, were used. A total of 700 data were used, taking equal numbers of data from each breed. In order to test the accuracy of the model created in the research, the data set was divided into two data subsets as training and test subsets. In order to test the compatibility of these separated subsets with the MARS model, a new package program named "ehaGoF" which estimates 15 goodness of fit criteria was used. According to the analysis results, the MARS model with the smallest SDRATIO (0.157, 0.130) and the highest determination coefficient (R²) (0.975, 0.983) of the training and test sets, respectively, was determined. Looking at the other fit values, it is seen that the training and test set are quite compatible. In terms of hot carcass weight among the breeds, it was determined that the Limousine race performed higher than the other breeds. As a result, the implementation of the MARS algorithm can allow livestock breeders to obtain effective clues by using independent variables such as breed, age, and body weight in estimating hot carcass weight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studying body development in animals is an essential component for improving their production. The objective of this study was to study body measurements with regard to sex and age in Borgou cattle breed reared at the Okpara Breeding Farm. Data were collected on 244 animals (including 114 males and 120 females) distributed in 0-6, 6-12, 12-24, 24-36, 36-48 and >48 months classes. Data were compared using Student t-test in R software. The results showed that age had a very significant effect (p<0.001) on all measurements. For age groups 0-6, 6-12, 12-24 and >48 months, males presented higher values for body measurements than females on the measurements (p<0.05). However, for 24-36 months, the values of measurements such as Height at the withers, Height at the sacrum, Distance from the Head until the Ischium, Body length, Head length, Pelvic width, Head width, and Chest Perimeter were higher in females (p<0.05). Over 48 months, only the values obtained for Pelvic width were significantly higher in females (p<0.001). The results of this study can be used in selection and genetic improvement processes of Borgou cattle to improve the contribution of cattle farming to agricultural GDP in Benin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Milkability is a trait related to the milking efficiency of an animal, and it is a component of the herd profitability. Due to its economic importance, milkability is currently included in the selection index of the Italian Simmental cattle breed with a weight of 7.5%. This lowly heritable trait is measured on a subjective scale from 1 to 3 (1 = slow, 3 = fast), and genetic evaluations are performed by pedigree-based BLUP. Genomic information is now available for some animals in the Italian Simmental population, and its inclusion in the genetic evaluation system could increase accuracy of breeding values and genetic progress for milkability. The aim of this study was to test the feasibility and advantages of having a genomic evaluation for this trait in the Italian Simmental population. Phenotypes were available for 131,308 cows. A total of 9,526 animals had genotypes for 42,152 loci; among the genotyped animals, 2,455 were cows with phenotypes, and the other were their relatives. The youngest cows with both phenotypes and genotypes (n = 900) were identified as selection candidates. Variance components and heritability were estimated using pedigree information, whereas genetic and genomic evaluations were carried out using BLUP and single-step genomic BLUP (ssGBLUP), respectively. In addition, a weighted ssGBLUP was assessed using genomic regions from a genome-wide association study. Evaluation models were validated using theoretical and realized accuracies. The estimated heritability for milkability was 0.12 ± 0.01. The mean theoretical accuracies for selection candidates were 0.43 ± 0.08 (BLUP) and 0.53 ± 0.06 (ssGBLUP). The mean realized accuracies based on linear regression statistics were 0.29 (BLUP) and 0.40 (ssGBLUP). No genomic regions were significantly associated with milkability, thus no improvements in accuracy were observed when using weighted ssGBLUP. Results indicated that genomic information could improve the accuracy of breeding values and increase genetic progress for milkability in Italian Simmental. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study aimed to explore genetic polymorphisms of the CCKAR gene and their relationship with the growth and development of Qinchuan cattle which could be used as molecular markers for the improvement of the breeding of Qinchuan cattle. Results: Here, we have identified seven single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at loci g. 1463 C>G; g. 1532 T>A; g. 1570 G>A; g. 1594 C>A; g. 1640 T>C; g. 1677 G>C; and g. 1735 C>T in the coding region of the bovine CCKAR gene. The frequencies identified on allelic and genotypic characteristics have shown that all seven SNPs diverged from the Hardy-Weinberg-Equilibrium. The SNP2, SNP3, SNP6 and SNP7 had the lowest polymorphism information content values, and remaining SNPs were found to be moderate (0.25 < PIC < 0.50). The genotype CG in SNP1 at loci g.1463 C>G had the greatest association with WH, HW, CD and CCF, while the genotype TA at the very same loci was associated with BFT, ULA and IMF content in Qinchuan cattle. The CCKAR gene expression level in adipose tissue, small intestine, liver and skeleton muscle was found to be higher, whereas, the expression level of mRNA in organs of other digestive system including reticulum, abomasum and omasum was moderate. Some expression of CCKAR mRNA was found in the large intestine, kidney and rumen. Conclusions: In summary, our finding suggested that the CCKAR gene could be used as a potential candidate for the improvement of carcass quality and body measurements of Qinchuan cattle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experiments were conducted to assess the morphometric traits in four indigenous cattle breeds (n=300) namely; Keteku, Muturu, N'dama and White Fulani, so as to determine the effects of breed and sex on the body measurements in cattle and prediction of the linear body relationship among body parameters using linear, quadratic and cubic functions, results of the morphometric traits data analyses showed that breeds and breed*sex were important sources of variation and significantly (P<0.05) influenced linear traits such as Body length (BL), Heart girth (HG), Height at withers (HW) and Head circumference (HC); N'dama had higher linear body dimensions than other breeds in this study as indicated by determination coefficients (R2) of regression equation that included all body measurements which were higher in White Fulani and Muturu (97.5 and95.0 %, respectively), it was found that the best and highest R2 value for White Fulani was obtained from the equation contained heart girth, height at withers and head circumference was found as97.5 %, followed by the R2 value obtained from the equation contained heart girth and height atwithers which was found as 91.8 % while the poorest relationships were found in Keteku with highest R2 value found in withers height (69.5%) and the lowest in the head circumference (37.9%), based on the R2, body length and other linear relationships were fitted best by linear, followed by quadratic and cubic functions while cubic term was not statistically significant for withers height and heart girth (P>0.05), the coefficients correlation gave the best and highest relationship between HW and HC in N'dama with a value of 0.94, and the coefficients correlation in the Muturu were generally lower as compared with other breeds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The objective of this study was to develop a model for estimating the carcass weight of Hanwoo cattle as a function of body measurements using three different modeling approaches: i) multiple regression analysis, ii) partial least square regression analysis, and iii) a neural network. Methods: Data from a total of 134 Hanwoo cattle were obtained from the National Institute of Animal Science in South Korea. Among the 372 variables in the raw data, 20 variables related to carcass weight and body measurements were extracted to use in multiple regression, partial least square regression, and an artificial neural network to estimate the cold carcass weight of Hanwoo cattle by any of seven body measurements significantly related to carcass weight or by all 19 body measurement variables. For developing and training the model, 100 data points were used, whereas the 34 remaining data points were used to test the model estimation. Results: The R2 values from testing the developed models by multiple regression, partial least square regression, and an artificial neural network with seven significant variables were 0.91, 0.91, and 0.92, respectively, whereas all the methods exhibited similar R2 values of approximately 0.93 with all 19 body measurement variables. In addition, relative errors were within 4%, suggesting that the developed model was reliable in estimating Hanwoo cattle carcass weight. The neural network exhibited the highest accuracy. Conclusion: The developed model was applicable for estimating Hanwoo cattle carcass weight using body measurements. Because the procedure and required variables could differ according to the type of model, it was necessary to select the best model suitable for the system with which to calculate the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study has been conducted at Al-Qadisiyah province during 2019 by using 90 buffalo calves, birth weight(BW) and their body measurements i e.body length (BL), wither height (WH), hip height (HH), chest grith (CG) and hip girth (HG) are recorded. The current study aims to predict birth weight from their body measurements at the same age. The results obtained of the current study can be summarized as follow: The overall mean of (BW) was 37.159 kg, and the overall means for body measurements at birth are: 76.778 (BL) 73.088 (WH), 91.470 (HH), 104.274 (CG) and 112.780 (HG) cm respectively. Significantly simple correlation coefficients between each of BW with their body measurements are ranging from 0.415 to 0.619 at birth. It is found that the best equation to predict BW based on equation number 1 (BL), with adjusted R²=0.467. The body measurements of buffalo calves at birth provide a reasonable ways to predict BW based on equation number 2 (BL, HH) with correlation coefficient 0.717 and adjusted R²= 0.495 and equation number 24 (WH, HH, CG, HG) with correlation coefficient 0.730 and adjusted R²=0.494.Finally, previous equations could be used to predict weights from body measurements at birth, easily, cheaply, rabidly and well accepted by the breeds when weighing scales are not available in the commercial herds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploration of genes in relation to body measurement traits through large-scaled mutation identification is highly conductive for the genomics-assisted breeding of superior productivity cattle. In this investigation, 31 objective mutations were genotyped synchronously in 384 yellow cattle of 8 breeds through the application of optimized MALDI–TOF-MS and multiplex PCR techniques. High genotyping rate was obtained as well as greatly decreased cost which was below one thirtieth of the routine analysis. Results from genotyping revealed 23 mutations as valid mutations in the studied cattle population with gene heterozygosity and effective allele number varying from 0.0052 to 0.4998 and 1.0052 to 1.9991, respectively. Among the 23 effective mutations, 12 was classified as moderate polymorphism (0.25 < PIC < 0.5) while the other 11 belonged to low polymorphism (PIC < 0.25), 7 mutations did not obey the HW equilibrium (p < 0.05) and linkage mainly appeared between mutations of UCP2 and PTHR1 genes. Furthermore, 8 body measurement traits in the 384 cattle were recorded to validate their association with tag mutations, and significant correlations were found in 12 mutations of 9 genes including PTHR1, CDK6, IHH, HHIP, GHRL, COL1A1, INS, GDF5 and UCP2, of which, PTHR1 was proved to be the most potential contributor to bone modeling in cattle. Results highlight the potential application value of 12 novel mutations in enhancing cattle production traits as well as the high genotyping rate achieved by MALDI–TOF-MS coupled with multiplex PCR technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Body weight (BW) is an important heritable phenotype and related to other functional and production traits in cattle. The past decade has seen an increase in emphasis on genome wide association studies (GWAS) for detecting single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that are associated with quantitative phenotypes. Prediction of phenotypes using across-breed GWAS information [genomic prediction (GP)] is an also important research area but received less attention from the community. Understanding the link between major genes and common ancestors within and between breeds will contribute to a deeper understanding of GP across breeds. The aims of the present study were two-fold: 1) to examine genetic structure and to detect associated SNPs for BW using various single and multiple locus genomic models and 2) genomic prediction of BW using Siberian cattle populations based on across-breed genomic information. The most obvious finding to emerge from this study was the increase in the across-GP accuracy when gene segregation in both related populations was found. These findings have significant implications for the understanding of the way in which common ancestors and/or the presence of quantitative trait loci might affect the accuracy of the GP results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perilipin 2 (PLIN2) is a cytosolic protein that regulates intracellular lipid storage and mobilization. However, research reports of the relationship between PLIN2 gene and growth traits in cattle are rare. Here, five novel single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs)（g.3036G > C, g.3964C > T, g.6458G > T, g.6555C > T and g.8231G > A）were identified within the bovine PLIN2 gene using DNA sequencing and PCR-SSCP methods in 820 individuals from four Chinese indigenous bovine breeds. Overall, five common haplotypes were identified based on the 5 SNPs, with the most common haplotypes (GCGCG) occurring at a frequency of 69.0%. In addition, The 5 novel SNPs were associated with growth traits at 6, 12, 18 and 24 months in Nanyang population, and significant associations were found in body weight and heart girth. These results suggest that PLIN2 possibly is a strong candidate gene marker for body weight in cattle breeding program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Bovine Pituitary specific transcription factor 1 (bPit-1) is one of amino acid that controling pituitary gland in mammals. The pituitary gland is important for secretion of growth hormone from growth genes. This study was carried out to detect polymorphism in the exon 6 of bPit-1 (g.1256G>A) in Pasundan cattle using PCR-RFLP method and its association with body weight. Total of 69 heads (15 males and 54 females) of Pasundan cattle from breeding station (BPPIBT-SP Ciamis, West Java) were used in this study. Research showed that two genotypes of bPit-1/HinfI gene were identified in this study i.e GG (0.90) and AG (0.10) with allele frequencies of 0.05 (A) and 0.95 (G). The polymorphic informative content (PIC) and number of effective allele (ne) values were 0.09 (low) and 1.11. respectively. The Chi-square (χ2) value in the population studied was 0.20 and in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (χ2<5.99). It was concluded that the polymorphism of bPit-1/HinfI in Pasundan cattle included of low category and was not associated with body weight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study was to evaluate biometric measures of Crioula Lageana cattle breed at different ages, to establish patterns of variation of these measures, contributing to the phenotypic characterization of the breed. Body measurements (body length, shoulder height, thoracic perimeter, rump height, rump width and rump length) were collected from 346 animals from three different regions of the Santa Catarina State Plateau (Campos de Curitibanos, Coxilha Rica and Campos de Caçador). The biometric measurements were evaluated in relation to age, gender and region of origin. Statistical analysis was performed using SAS version 9.3. The procedures used included analysis of variance, correlations, cluster, discriminant and canonical analysis. Statistical difference between males and females was observed for all measurements, except rump height, demonstrating sexual dimorphism. Rump height varied up to 3 and 5 years of age and body length varied in animals over 11 years of age; while rump width and thoracic perimeter varied up to 7 and 9 years of age. On average, 50% of the animals were classified correctly, indicating little difference between regions for biometric traits. Also, animals from Campos de Curitibanos were those with greater distance from the other two regions of the Santa Catarina plateau. Correlations between shoulder height, rump width and length were above 0.80. So, rump length could be considered the measurement best suited for assessment of body size of this breed due to the high correlation with the other measures and the easy way to assess this parameter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]