Verification of a QTL on BTA1 for temperament in German Simmental and German Angus calves (Short Communication)

Abstract. A QTL on BTA1 near BMS574 was described for temperament in cattle. Eight German Simmental and six German Angus half sib families with all together 962 calves born in four consecutive years were used to verify the importance of this QTL. BMS574 and four flanking microsatellites (INRA117, DIK634, BMS4020 and DIK4957) were used in the study. Microsatellite INRA117 was monomorphic in both breeds and replaced. The number of alleles varied from two to 16 within breeds. Allele frequencies differed between the breeds and ranged from less than one percent to 99 %. All calves have been tested and scored for their behaviour in three different tests (tethering test, weighing test, separation- and restraint test). In addition, in German Simmental the status of polledness, horned or scurs respectively was recorded. A variance analysis separated by breeds was conducted for all microsatellites and the scores. The allele 169 of BMS1928 showed a significant effect on the score during weighing in German Simmental. Effects of BMS574 approached P-values near the 5 %-level in both breeds. So the study confirmed the importance of the proximal region of BTA1 in genetic background of behaviour in suckler cow calves.