Genome-wide association study identifies QTLs for displacement of abomasum in Chinese Holstein cattle1

Abstract

Displacement of abomasum (DA) is one of the most common and important disorders in dairy cattle. The objective of the present study was to detect the quantitative trait loci (QTL) for DA in Chinese Holstein using single-step genomic BLUP methodology. A total of 60,556 producer-recorded DA event records from 32,190 cows, together with 2,336 genotyped animals with 40,054 SNP markers, were used for the analysis. Genomic data were incorporated into a threshold model for variance component estimation, and the estimated heritability of DA was 0.108 (SE = 0.086). Results of genome-wide association studies were reported as the proportion of genetic variance explained 20-SNP windows. Eight QTLs covering 129 genes on Bos taurus autosomes 2, 4, 7, 10, 14, 17, 20 showed associations with DA. Ten genes, namely BMP4, SOCS4, GCH1, DDHD1, ATG14, ACBP/DBI, SMO, AHCYL2, CYP7A1, and CACNA1A, involved in insulin metabolism and lipid metabolism pathways may be considered as candidate genes of DA in dairy. The identified QTLs, biological pathways, and associated genes underlying DA identified from the present study will contribute to the understanding of the genetic architecture of this complex disease.

Keywords: dairy cattle; displacement of abomasum; metabolism pathway; producer-recorded data; quantitative trait loci (QTL); single-step genomic BLUP approach.

Figure 1.

Manhattan plot for the proportion of the genetic variance explained by 20-SNP sliding windows for displacement of abomasum (DA) in a GWAS study using single-step genomic BLUP methodology. The dotted line represents the windows that explained higher than 0.4% of genetic variance.