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Colour‐sidedness in Gloucester cattle is associated with a complex structural variant impacting regulatory elements downstream of KIT
Author(s) -
Artesi M.,
Tamma N.,
Deckers M.,
Karim L.,
Coppieters W.,
Van den Broeke A.,
Georges M.,
Charlier C.,
Durkin K.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
animal genetics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.756
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1365-2052
pISSN - 0268-9146
DOI - 10.1111/age.12932
Subject(s) - biology , breed , downstream (manufacturing) , genetics , white (mutation) , gene , allele , evolutionary biology , operations management , economics
Summary Colour‐sidedness is a striking coat colour pattern found in a number of cattle breeds, typically characterised by a white stripe that extends along the back, head and belly of the animal. This dominant phenotype is caused by two related translocations ( Cs 6 and Cs 29 ) that alter a region downstream of the KIT gene. Gloucester cattle are native to the UK and are known for an unusual colour‐sided pattern that does not extend to the head. We carried out whole‐genome sequencing of two Gloucester bulls as well as colour‐sided Irish Moiled, British White and Pustertaler Sprinzen for comparison. We found that the Gloucester cattle also have a complex structural variant downstream of KIT , which overlaps the regions involved in Cs 6 and Cs 29 . All three alleles potentially disrupt a number of putative regulatory elements downstream of KIT . These results complement and expand on the recently published work focused on the Pinzgauer breed from Austria, a carrier of the same colour‐sided pattern as seen in Gloucester cattle.