Both authors contributed equally to the work.
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A shared 336 kb haplotype associated with the belt pattern in three divergent cattle breeds
Article first published online: 16 NOV 2009
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2052.2009.01987.x
© 2009 The Authors, Journal compilation © 2009 Stichting International Foundation for Animal Genetics
Additional Information
How to Cite
Drögemüller, C., Demmel, S., Engensteiner, M., Rieder, S. and Leeb, T. (2010), A shared 336 kb haplotype associated with the belt pattern in three divergent cattle breeds. Animal Genetics, 41: 304–307. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2052.2009.01987.x
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Both authors contributed equally to the work.
Publication History
- Issue published online: 6 MAY 2010
- Article first published online: 16 NOV 2009
- Accepted for publication 6 September 2009
Keywords:
- belt;
- Brown Swiss;
- coat colour;
- Dutch Belted;
- fine-mapping;
- Galloway;
- melanocyte
Summary
We recently mapped the belt mutation in Brown Swiss cattle to a 922 kb interval on BTA3. In this study, we analysed two additional cattle breeds with the belted phenotype: Galloway and Dutch Belted (Lakenvelder). By genotyping microsatellites in solid-coloured and belted Galloways, we confirmed that the belt mutation in Galloways is strongly associated with the same chromosomal locus as in Brown Swiss cattle. Subsequently, we analysed 36 SNPs in the belt interval in three breeds. We identified a single belt-associated haplotype for each of the analysed breeds. The three breed-specific belt haplotypes share alleles in four blocks. Three of these blocks comprise only one single or two consecutive markers, while the largest shared haplotype block encompasses nine consecutive SNPs in a 336 kb interval. The large shared haplotype across divergent breeds suggests a common mutation for the belt phenotype in all three breeds. We identified a potential candidate gene within this interval coding for the developmental transcription factor HES6. We re-sequenced the complete HES6 coding sequence in belted and solid-coloured cattle but did not find belt-associated polymorphisms. In conclusion, our data provide strong evidence in favour of a common founder for the belt phenotype in different cattle breeds and have resulted in an improved fine-mapping of the causative mutation.