QTL for birth weight in Bos taurus cattle
Date
2003
Authors
Morris, C.
Cullen, N.
Pitchford, W.
Hickey, S.
Hyndman, D.
Crawford, A.
Bottema, C.
Editors
Advisors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Type:
Conference paper
Citation
Association for the Advancement of Animal Breeding and Genetics. Proceedings, 2003; 15:400-403
Statement of Responsibility
Conference Name
Association for the Advancement of Animal Breeding and Genetics Conference (15th : 2003 : Melbourne, Australia)
Abstract
Records of birth weight (BW) from a beef cattle experiment in New Zealand and Australia were analysed to test for linkage to DNA markers on all chromosomes except the sex chromosome. This was part of a search for quantitative trait loci (QTL) for production, carcass and meat quality traits. Two extreme Bos taurus breeds, Jersey (J) and Limousin (L), were used to generate over 400 back-cross progeny in each country. There were 5 significant BW QTL, with one on each of 5 different chromosomes, and two other locations where QTL effects approached significance. The effects of sire-derived J and L alleles on progeny BW for significant QTL ranged from -0.84 to 0.73 phenotypic standard deviations, or from -3.13 to 2.73 kg, indicating that QTL from both breeds were associated with increased BW.