Untersuchung von Assoziationen zwischen dem Prion-Protein-Gen und Leistungseigenschaften beim Schaf an Stations- und Felddaten

Abstract. Title of the paper: Association between prion – protein - haplotypes and yield traits of station and field tested sheep On the basis of routinely collected data and genotypes of the prion Protein from stud book and performance testing of sheep in Thuringia, associations between prion – protein - haplotypes and traits of fattening, carcasses, fleece and fertility were estimated. The number of useable Animals was for different attributes (altogether, genotyped) fattening 7316/793, ultrasound 4733/793, carcass 3787/165, wool score 2198/795 and litter size 26000/1643. For survival- analysis were 20803 died animals, thereof 284 genotyped and 7257 living animals, thereof 1452 genotyped useable.

Most of these traits showed no association with haplotypes of the prion protein. For the breed “Merinolandschaf” there was a tendency towards finer wool for homozygous ARR-carriers. In general, beyond the effect of the reduced selection pressure, no disadvantage is expected for Thuringian breeds when ARR – Haplotypes proliferate. Survival analyses show that known ARR-carriers stay longer in the flock.