Gonadal hypoplasia in Swedish Mountain cattle and other cattle breeds
Project overview
Participants
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Global goals
- 2. Zero hunger
Short summary
Gonadal hypoplasia (reduced size of ovaries/testes) that leads to reduced fertility has long been a problem in Swedish mountain cattle (Fjällko). Reduced fertility is a treat to endangered breeds. With modern DNA methods and computer simulations we will tackle this old problem.
Background
In the early 1900s, when the Swedish Mountain breed was still numerous, the breed was affected by a dramatic increase in a harmful genetic variant that causes hypoplasia of the reproductive organs (cows and bulls with small ovaries and testes, respectively, resulting in infertility in severe cases). We now know that the condition is associated with a recessive allele consisting of a translocation between chromosome 6 and chromosome 29. It is a complex structural variant whose exact sequence is not known.
The same allele is also associated with color-sidedness, a trait that has been selected for in the Mountain cattle breed. Our research shows that the allele still occurs at high frequency in the breed, probably due to this balancing selection, where the harmful effects of the allele have been offset by selection for color-sidedness. In addition, there are other alleles that cause color-sidedness but are not associated with hypoplasia.
Aim
The aim of the project is to understand the genetic causes of gonadal hypoplasia, the spread of the allele in different breeds, and how it can be managed in breeding programs.