A haplotype spanning PLAG1 contributed to stature recovery in modern cattle

Authors: UTSUNOMIYA, YURI - Sao Paulo State University (UNESP); MILANESI, MARCO - International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); UTSUNOMIYA, ADAM - International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); TORRECILHA, RAFAELA - Sao Paulo State University (UNESP); KIM, EUI-SOO - Recombinetics, Inc; SILVA, MARCIO - Universidade Federal Do Piauí (UFPI); DO CARMO, ADRIANA - Collaborator; CARVALHEIRO, ROBERTO - Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP); DE REZENDE NEVES, HAROLDO - Collaborator; PADULA, ROMULO - Collaborator; SUSSAI, THAYLA - Collaborator; ZAVAREZ, LUDMILLA - Sao Paulo State University (UNESP); CIPRIANO, RAPHAEL - Collaborator; CAMINHAS, MARGARETH - Sao Paulo State University (UNESP); HAMBRECHT, GEORGE - University Of Maryland; COLLI, LICIA - Collaborator; EUFEMI, ELISA - Collaborator; AJMONE-MARSAN, PAOLO - Collaborator; BUORA, MAURIZIO - Collaborator; Liu, Ge - George; Bickhart, Derek; Van Tassell, Curtis - Curt; SOLKNER, JOHANN - University Of Natural Resources & Applied Life Sciences - Austria; SONSTEGARD, TAD - Recombinetics, Inc; GARCIA, JOSE - Sao Paulo State University (UNESP)

Submitted to: Scientific Reports
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/22/2017
Publication Date: 12/7/2017
Citation: Utsunomiya, Y., Milanesi, M., Utsunomiya, A., Torrecilha, R., Kim, E., Silva, M., Do Carmo, A.S., Carvalheiro, R., De Rezende Neves, H.H., Padula, R., Sussai, T., Zavarez, L.B., Cipriano, R.S., Caminhas, M., Hambrecht, G., Colli, L., Eufemi, E., Ajmone-Marsan, P., Buora, M., Liu, G., Bickhart, D.M., Van Tassell, C.P., Solkner, J., Sonstegard, T.S., Garcia, J.F. 2017. A haplotype spanning PLAG1 contributed to stature recovery in modern cattle. Scientific Reports. 7(1):17140. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-17127-1.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-17127-1

Interpretive Summary: The recent evolution of cattle is marked by large changes in body size. Height in the European-deived cattle (Bos taurus) was reduced by a factor of ~1.5 from the Neolithic to the Middle Ages, and increased again only during the Early Modern Ages. We provide evidence that the region surrounding the bovine gene PLAG1 has major effects on body size, weight and reproduction is a relatively recently discovered effect, and it increased rapidly in frequency in Northwestern European cattle between the 16th and 18th centuries. Towards the 19th and 20th centuries, this specific variation was interbred into non-European cattle breeds. These data implicate a major role of this genomic region in recent changes in body size in modern cattle, and represent one of the first examples of a change in the frequency of a region in livestock that was driven by selection on a trait controlled by many genes.

Technical Abstract: The recent evolution of cattle is marked by fluctuations in body size. Height in the Bos taurus lineage was reduced by a factor of ~1.5 from the Neolithic to the Middle Ages, and increased again only during the Early Modern Ages. Here, we provide evidence that the bovine PLAG1 haplotype (Q) with major effects on body size, weight and reproduction is a millenarian derived allele that increased rapidly in frequency in Northwestern European B. taurus between the 16th and 18th centuries. Towards the 19th and 20th centuries, Q was then introgressed into non-European B. taurus and Bos indicus breeds. These data implicate a major role of Q in recent changes in body size in modern cattle, and represent one of the first examples of a sweep in livestock that was driven by selection on a complex trait.