Genetic Relationships under Different Management Systems and their Consequences for Dairy Cattle Breeding

Advances in breeding and management resulted in a considerable increase of production traits in Austrian dairy cattle. Besides, low input systems were also established. Possible genotype by environment interactions (G x E) and genetic antagonisms dependent on production level might indicate the need for separate breeding programmes for dairy farms differing in management intensity. Thus, G x E and genetic correlations (ra) between milk yield and selected fitness traits were estimated for Upper Austrian Fleckvieh cattle under high and low production levels. Data of the current herdbook cow population and their dams were extracted. Two data sets were selected based on the herd average of milk; extensive (≤6,000 kg herd average) and intensive (≥9,000 kg herd average) farms. Yield deviations were used for the analysis of yield traits, functional longevity, reproduction traits and milking speed; raw data were used for somatic cell count (SCC). For yield deviations, a model including the effects year of birth (fixed) and animal (genetic, random) was applied, while a model close to the routine evaluation was run for SCC. The lowest ra between extensive and intensive farms was found for protein yield (ra = 0.89) while ra values close to unity were found for all functional traits. Genetic antagonisms between milk yield and functional traits were stronger in intensive systems, however, standard errors were large. Currently, separate breeding programmes for different management intensities do not seem to be necessary

Genetic Parameters of Austrian Fleckvieh Cattle in Organic and Conventional Production Systems with Different Levels of Management Intensity

Improvement of breeding and management has resulted in a considerable improvement of production and many fitness traits in Austrian dairy cattle. Apart from that, a variety of different dairy production systems, comprising organic, extensive to intensive systems can be observed in Austria. It can be assumed that different breeding goals exist in different production systems which would cause differences in genetic parameters and would imply the necessity of adapted breeding objectives. Therefore, the aim of the study was to estimate genetic parameters of three different production systems (organic, conventional low and high level of farm intensity) for three productions (milk kg, fat kg, protein kg) and six fitness traits (persistency, somatic cell score, functional longevity, milking speed, udder health index and fertility index) using an approximate multivariate two-step approach. In general, heritabilities and genetic correlations were similar in all three production systems. Heritabilities ranged from 0.04 for fertility index for the farms with a low level of farm intensity to 0.65 for milk kg for farms with a high level of farm intensity. Almost no deviations were found between the genetic correlations across the defined production systems. Due to the similar results it can be concluded that breeding objectives are similar in different production systems and currently breeding objectives do not need to be adjusted

Genetic Parameters of Austrian Fleckvieh Cattle in Organic and Conventional Production Systems with Different Levels of Management Intensity

Improvement of breeding and management has resulted in a considerable improvement of production and many fitness traits in Austrian dairy cattle. Apart from that, a variety of different dairy production systems, comprising organic, extensive to intensive systems can be observed in Austria. It can be assumed that different breeding goals exist in different production systems which would cause differences in genetic parameters and would imply the necessity of adapted breeding objectives. Therefore, the aim of the study was to estimate genetic parameters of three different production systems (organic, conventional low and high level of farm intensity) for three productions (milk kg, fat kg, protein kg) and six fitness traits (persistency, somatic cell score, functional longevity, milking speed, udder health index and fertility index) using an approximate multivariate two-step approach. In general, heritabilities and genetic correlations were similar in all three production systems. Heritabilities ranged from 0.04 for fertility index for the farms with a low level of farm intensity to 0.65 for milk kg for farms with a high level of farm intensity. Almost no deviations were found between the genetic correlations across the defined production systems. Due to the similar results it can be concluded that breeding objectives are similar in different production systems and currently breeding objectives do not need to be adjusted

Genetic Relationships under Different Management Systems and their Consequences for Dairy Cattle Breeding

Advances in breeding and management resulted in a considerable increase of production traits in Austrian dairy cattle. Besides, low input systems were also established. Possible genotype by environment interactions (G x E) and genetic antagonisms dependent on production level might indicate the need for separate breeding programmes for dairy farms differing in management intensity. Thus, G x E and genetic correlations (ra) between milk yield and selected fitness traits were estimated for Upper Austrian Fleckvieh cattle under high and low production levels. Data of the current herdbook cow population and their dams were extracted. Two data sets were selected based on the herd average of milk; extensive (≤6,000 kg herd average) and intensive (≥9,000 kg herd average) farms. Yield deviations were used for the analysis of yield traits, functional longevity, reproduction traits and milking speed; raw data were used for somatic cell count (SCC). For yield deviations, a model including the effects year of birth (fixed) and animal (genetic, random) was applied, while a model close to the routine evaluation was run for SCC. The lowest ra between extensive and intensive farms was found for protein yield (ra = 0.89) while ra values close to unity were found for all functional traits. Genetic antagonisms between milk yield and functional traits were stronger in intensive systems, however, standard errors were large. Currently, separate breeding programmes for different management intensities do not seem to be necessary

On the genomic regions associated with milk lactose in Fleckvieh cattle.

ABSTRACT Lactose is a sugar uniquely found in mammals' milk and it is the major milk solid in bovines. Lactose yield (LY, kg/d) is responsible for milk volume, whereas lactose percentage (LP) is thought to be more related to epithelial integrity and thus to udder health. There is a paucity of studies that have investigated lactose at the genomic level in dairy cows. This paper aimed to improve our knowledge on LP and LY, providing new insights into the significant genomic regions affecting these traits. A genome-wide association study for LP and LY was carried out in Fleckvieh cattle by using bulls' deregressed estimated breeding values of first lactation as pseudo-phenotypes. Heritabilities of first-lactation test-day LP and LY estimated using linear animal models were 0.38 and 0.25, respectively. A total of 2,854 bulls genotyped with a 54K SNP chip were available for the genome-wide association study; a linear mixed model approach was adopted for the analysis. The significant SNP of LP were scattered across the whole genome, with signals on chromosomes 1, 2, 3, 7, 12, 16, 18, 19, 20, 28, and 29; the top 4 significant SNP explained 4.90% of the LP genetic variance. The signals were mostly in regions or genes with involvement in molecular intra- or extracellular transport; for example, CDH5, RASGEF1C, ABCA6, and SLC35F3. A significant region within chromosome 20 was previously shown to affect mastitis or somatic cell score in cattle. As regards LY, the significant SNP were concentrated in fewer regions (chromosomes 6 and 14), related to mastitis/somatic cell score, immune response, and transport mechanisms. The 5 most significant SNP for LY explained 8.45% of genetic variance and more than one-quarter of this value has to be attributed to the variant within ADGRB1. Significant peaks in target regions remained even after adjustment for the 2 most significant variants previously detected on BTA6 and BTA14. The present study is a prelude for deeper investigations into the biological role of lactose for milk secretion and volume determination, stressing the connection with genes regulating intra- or extracellular trafficking and immune and inflammatory responses in dairy cows. Also, these results improve the knowledge on the relationship between lactose and udder health; they support the idea that LP and its derived traits are potential candidates as indicators of udder health in breeding programs aimed to enhance cows' resistance to mastitis

Lignin-based porous junction for silver-silver chloride reference electrodes

Carbonized lignin powder was used as a salt bridge for a silver-silver chloride reference electrode. This easy-to-prepare reference electrode exhibited excellent stability in saturated potassium chloride solution. In addition, the electrochemical impedance spectra showed that the prepared reference electrode is stable in acidic, neutral, and basic aqueous solutions (pH 1 - 12) and has similar impedances to its glass frit equivalent

A Nonsense Mutation in TMEM95 Encoding a Nondescript Transmembrane Protein Causes Idiopathic Male Subfertility in Cattle

Genetic variants underlying reduced male reproductive performance have been identified in humans and model organisms, most of them compromising semen quality. Occasionally, male fertility is severely compromised although semen analysis remains without any apparent pathological findings (i.e.,idiopathic subfertility). Artificial insemination (AI) in most cattle populations requires close examination of all ejaculates before insemination. Although anomalous ejaculates are rejected, insemination success varies considerably among AI bulls. In an attempt to identify genetic causes of such variation, we undertook a genome-wide association study (GWAS). Imputed genotypes of 652, 856 SNPs were available for 7962 AI bulls of the Fleckvieh (FV) population. Male reproductive ability (MRA) was assessed based on 15.3 million artificial inseminations. The GWAS uncovered a strong association signal on bovine chromosome 19 (P = 4.08x10(-59)). Subsequent autozygosity mapping revealed a common 1386 kb segment of extended homozygosity in 40 bulls with exceptionally poor reproductive performance. Only 1.7% of 35, 671 inseminations with semen samples of those bulls were successful. None of the bulls with normal reproductive performance was homozygous, indicating recessive inheritance. Exploiting whole-genome resequencing data of 43 animals revealed a candidate causal nonsense mutation (rs378652941, c. 483C>A, p.Cys161X) in the transmembrane protein 95 encoding gene TMEM95 which was subsequently validated in 1990 AI bulls. Immunohistochemical investigations evidenced that TMEM95 is located at the surface of spermatozoa of fertile animals whereas it is absent in spermatozoa of subfertile animals. These findings imply that integrity of TMEM95 is required for an undisturbed fertilisation. Our results demonstrate that deficiency of TMEM95 severely compromises male reproductive performance in cattle and reveal for the first time a phenotypic effect associated with genomic variation in TMEM95

Regulatory T cells with additional COX-2 expression are independent negative prognosticators for vulvar cancer patients

Vulvar cancer incidence numbers have been steadily rising over the past decades. In particular, the number of young patients with vulvar cancer has recently increased. Therefore, the need to identify new prognostic factors and, in addition, therapeutic options for vulvar carcinoma is more apparent. The aim of this study was to analyze the influx of COX-2 positive tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes and monocytes and their influence on prognosis. Using subtyping by immunofluorescence, the majority of COX-2 expressing immune cells were identified as FOXP3-positive regulatory T cells. In addition, peri- and intra-tumoral macrophages in the same tumor tissue were detected simultaneously as M2-polarized macrophages. COX-2 positive immune cells were independent negative prognostic markers in long-term overall survival of patients with vulvar cancer. These results show an influence of immune cell infiltration for vulvar carcinoma patients. Immune cell infiltration and immune checkpoint expression may, therefore, become interesting targets for further research on new vulvar cancer treatment strategies

Comparative Analysis of Ribonuclease P RNA of the Planctomycetes

The planctomycetes, order Planctomycetales, are a distinct phylum of domain Bacteria. Genes encoding the RNA portion of ribonuclease P (RNase P) of some planctomycete members were sequenced and compared with existing database planctomycete sequences. rnpB gene sequences encoding RNase P RNA were generated by a conserved primer PCR strategy for Planctomyces brasiliensis, Planctomyces limnophilus, Pirellula marina, Pirellula staleyi strain ATCC 35122, Isosphaera pallida, one other Isosphaera strain, Gemmata obscuriglobus and three other strains of the Gemmata group. These sequences were aligned against reference bacterial sequences and secondary structures of corresponding RNase P RNAs deduced by a comparative approach. P12 helices were found to be highly variable in length, as were helices P16.1 and P19, when present. RNase P RNA secondary structures of Gemmata isolates were found to have unusual features relative to other planctomycetes, including a long P9 helix and an insert in the P13 helix not found in any other member of domain Bacteria. These unique features are consistent with other unusual properties of this genus, distinguishing it from other bacteria. Phylogenetic analyses indicate that relationships between planctomycetes derived from RNase P RNA are consistent with 16S rRNA-based analyses