P5054 Characterization of a region within bovine chromosome 6 associated with gray coat color in a Nellore-Angus cross. (1st September 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Scienski, K.; Holland, P. W.; Sanders, J. O.; Riley, D. G.; Gill, C. A.
• Is Part Of: Journal of animal science. Volume 94(2016)Supplement 4
• Page Start: 141
• Page End: 141
• Publication Date: 2016-09-01
• Subjects: gray -- melanin -- Nellore; Livestock -- Periodicals; Livestock; Electronic journals; Periodicals; 636.005
• DOI: 10.2527/jas2016.94supplement4141a
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0021-8812

Abstract

Abstract: Breeds of cattle native to hot and humid climates often have light, gray, or white coats. Although the hide of Nellore cattle is generally black, the coat ranges from white to dark gray. This variation in hair color is likely due to irregular deposition of pigment within individual hairs. In other species, gray is caused by mutations affecting formation of dendritic cells, resulting in malformed dendritic cells depositing melanin in clumps rather than uniformly along the hair shaft. The objective of this study was to identify the locus that causes gray in a Nellore-Angus F2 cross population. There were 779 cattle available for this study, each with 34, 957 SNP genotypes. Each individual was scored for gray, and through genome-wide association analysis, gray was mapped to the same region of bovine chromosome 6 that has previously been associated with reddening and spotting phenotypes. We subsequently imputed this region to sequence scale and characterized haplotypes from recombinant individuals to define the critical interval for gray. We will also present evidence for epistatic interactions across this region that may contribute to misclassification of the gray phenotype in this cross.