Association of the Ile-442-Met substitution in NCAPG with birth weight in German Angus and German Simmental cattle (Brief Report)

Abstract. The optimal birth weight (BW) of a calf is important and an indicator of the chance to survive and performing later in life (Maltecca et al. 2009). The search for the genetic background of BW in cattle on BTA6 is in the focus of many studies. One QTL at 1 cM was described in an Angus × Brahman cross population (Kim et al. 2003). Three QTL for BW had been identified at BTA6 at 10 cM, 35-49 cM and 83-86 cM in a commercial line of Bos taurus (Kneeland et al. 2004). One of these was confirmed in a Jersey × Holstein cross population as a putative QTL at 41 cM (Maltecca et al. 2009). In a Holstein × Charolais cross cattle population a highly significant QTL for BW was detected on BTA6 in the same region between BM1329 and DIK1054 (Gutierrez-GIL et al. 2009). In another study with Holstein × Charolais the QTL was confirmed and the SNP in this QTL with the strongest effect on BW was in non-SMC condensing I complex, subunit G (NCAPG 1326T/G) (Eberlein et al. 2009). This SNP induced a Ile-442-Met substitution in the amino acid sequence.

It was the aim of this study to validate this SNP by analysing the effect of the Ile-442-Met substitution in NCAPG on birth weight in two important beef cattle breeds in Germany.