Association analyses of SNPs in candidate genes with body fat deposition and carcass merit traits in beef cattle

• Author / Creator

  Islam, Khandker Khaldun

• A candidate gene approach was used to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and their associations with body fat deposition and carcass merit traits in beef cattle. In total, 37 SNPs from 9 candidate genes have been genotyped on 463 hybrid, 206 Angus and 187 Charolais steers for association analyses with 10 different fat deposition and carcass merit traits. In single SNP analyses, 28 SNPs of 9 genes have been found significantly (P<0.05) associated with different traits in the cattle populations. Gene-specific linkage disequilibrium assessment of SNPs revealed the existence of haplotype blocks within 4 genes. Haplotype analyses have identified 31 haplotypes of 6 genes having significant associations (P<0.05) with different fat deposition and carcass merit traits in the cattle populations. These findings will provide insight into the genetic mechanism regulating body fat deposition in beef cattle and will assist the beef industry to improve beef quality through marker assisted selection.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Single nucleotide polymorphisms
  • Body fat deposition
  • Association analyses
  • Carcass trait
  • Beef cattle
  • SNP
  • Candidate genes

• Graduation date

  Fall 2009

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Science

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3R14J

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.