Research Article

SCD1 SNP in relation to breeding value of milk production traits in Polish Holstein-Friesian cows

Hanna Kulig, Inga Kowalewska-Łuczak, Kacper Żukowski, Melania Kunicka

1. Acta Sci. Pol. Zootechnica, 12(1), 2013, 41‒48

Abstract. The aim of this study was to investigate associations between SCD1 polymorphism and the estimated breeding value of milk production traits (milk, fat and protein yield, kg; fat and protein content, %) in the Polish Holstein-Friesian cows’ herd. The genotype and allele frequencies for g.10329C>T SNP in exon 5 of SCD1 gene were estimated in the examined herd. Statistical analysis revealed that studied polymorphism significantly affected the breeding value of protein content in milk (P ≤ 0.05). The results indicated that selection for the SCD1-TT individuals might contribute to increased protein content in milk in the Polish Holstein-Friesian cows. Further studies are needed to confirm these results.

Keywords: breeding value, cattle, single nucleotide polymorphism