Open AccessMicrosatellite mapping of the gene causing weaver disease in cattle will allow the study of an associated quantitative trait locus.
Author(s) -
Michel Georges,
Allan B. Dietz,
A. Mishra,
Dahlia M. Nielsen,
L S Sargeant,
A. Sørensen,
Matt Steele,
Xiyang Zhao,
H. W. Leipold,
James E. Womack
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.011
H-Index - 771
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.90.3.1058
Subject(s) - genetics , biology , locus (genetics) , microsatellite , synteny , quantitative trait locus , linkage disequilibrium , gene mapping , genetic linkage , population , gene , allele , haplotype , chromosome , demography , sociology
A genetic disease in cattle, progressive degenerative myeloencephalopathy (weaver disease), is associated with increased milk production. This association could result from population stratification, from a pleiotropic effect of a single gene, or from linkage disequilibrium between the gene causing weaver disease and a quantitative trait locus (QTL) for milk production. To test these hypotheses, we performed an extensive linkage study in a bovine pedigree segregating for the weaver condition and identified a microsatellite locus (TGLA116) closely linked to the weaver gene (zmax, 8.15; theta, 0.03). TGLA116 and, by extension, the weaver locus were assigned to bovine synteny group 13. This microsatellite can be used to identify weaver carriers, to select against this genetic defect, and to study the effect of the corresponding chromosomal region on milk production in Brown Swiss and other breeds of cattle.