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Title: Untapped genetic variability in Herefords: implications for climate change

Author
item KREHBIEL, BETHANY - Colorado State University
item PAIVA, SAMUEL - Embrapa
item Wilson, Carrie - Welsh
item ERICSSON, SCOTT - Sul Ross State University
item BOATRIGHT, JUSTIN - Sul Ross State University
item THOMAS, MILTON - Colorado State University
item Blackburn, Harvey

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/23/2015
Publication Date: 6/23/2015
Citation: Krehbiel, B.C., Paiva, S., Wilson, C.S., Ericsson, S., Boatright, J., Blackburn, H.D., Thomas, M. 2015. Untapped genetic variability in Herefords: implications for climate change. Meeting Abstract. Western Section American Society of Animal Science, Ruidoso, NM, June 23-26, 2015. Volume 66

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Global climate change (CC) has the potential to significantly alter US cattle productivity. As a result, the creation of genetic resources for a specific environment may be necessary, given that genetic-environmental interactions are present and may become more important. Molecular evaluation of a single breed based upon geographic location may provide insights as to the level of genetic variability for a variety of physiological and production traits that alter a population’s ability to withstand CC. We evaluated differences in SNP (single nucleotide polymorphisms) frequencies for Herefords (n=278) that came from five geographic locations designated as Cool Arid (CA) n=45; Cool Humid (CH) n=48; Transition Zone (TZ) n=76; Warm Arid (WA) n=68; and Warm Humid (WH) n=41. The SNPs were derived from commercial Bovine 50K or 770K SNP Bead Chip panels. Preliminary analysis using Bayesian analysis confirmed the validity of the five regions specified. A subset of 66 SNPs was selected for evaluation based upon literature reports that associated them to physiological or production traits that might be potentially impacted by CC. Twenty-five SNPs (associated with body weight, heat stress, milk yield, heifer conception rate, net merit, and early embryonic survival) showed departure from Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium (HWE)(P < 0.05). Among SNPs was observed large and substantial differences between most of the regions with exception to CA and TZ. The results suggest the existence of a significant geographically substructure in the Hereford breed which can be useful in selecting animals with greater resilience to CC.