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Genome-wide Association Studies for Milk Production Traits and Persistency of First Calving Holstein Cattle in Türkiye

2024    Erdoğan, Metin; Çinkaya, Samet; Brenig, Bertram; Çelikeloğlu, Koray; Demirtaş, Mustafa; Sarıibrahimoğlu, Suat; Tekerli, Mustafa

The study presents a comprehensive investigation into the genetic determinants
of 100-day milk yield (100DMY), 305-day milk yield (305DMY), total milk yield
(TMY), and persistency using first lactation records of 374 Holstein heifers reared
in a private farm at Çanakkale province of Türkiye, employing a genome-wide
association study (GWAS) approach. The research underscores the substantial
genetic component underlying these economically important traits through
detailed descriptive statistics and heritability estimations. The estimated
moderate to high heritabilities (0.32–0.54) for milk production traits suggest the
feasibility of targeted genetic improvement strategies. By leveraging GWAS, the
study identifies many significant and suggestively significant single nucleotide
polymorphisms (SNP) associated with studied traits. Noteworthy genes have
identified in this analysis include BCAS3, MALRD1, CTNND2, DOCK1, TMEM132C,
NRP1, CNTNAP2, GPRIN2, PLEKHA5, GLRA1, SCN7A, HHEX, KTM2C, RAB40C,
RAB11FIP3, and FXYD6. These findings provide valuable understandings of
the genetic background of milk production and persistency in Holstein cattle,
shedding light on specific genomic regions and candidate genes playing pivotal
roles in these traits. This research contributes valuable knowledge to the field
of dairy cattle genetics and informs future breeding efforts to improve milk
production sustainability and efficiency in Holstein cattle populations.