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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Genet.
Sec. Livestock Genomics
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fgene.2025.1491816
This article is part of the Research Topic Insights in Livestock Genomics View all 4 articles

Revealing study and breeding implications for production traits and tail characteristics in Simmental cattle by GWAS

Provisionally accepted
Jie Wang Jie Wang Genglong Jiang Genglong Jiang Kaisen Zhao Kaisen Zhao Jiayu Liao Jiayu Liao Na Shen Na Shen Jianghai Xiao Jianghai Xiao Xianbo Jia Xianbo Jia Wenqiang Sun Wenqiang Sun Songjia Lai Songjia Lai *
  • College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Simmental cattle are renowned for their dual purpose as meat and dairy breeds. The study recorded phenotype data from 183 Simmental cattle and performed a Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS) analysis to elucidate the genetic mechanisms underlying milk production, body size traits, and tail characteristics. Statistical analysis of phenotype data showed that season, parity, and age at first calving (AFC) factors had a significant effect on milk production (P < 0.05). The results of GWAS on cattle linear traits revealed that the candidate genes SH3RF2, DCHS2, ADAMTS1, CAMK4, PPARGC1A, PRL, PRP6, and CORIN have been found to affect body circumference (BC) and cannon circumference (CC). Through GWAS analysis of tail traits, including Circumference over tail root (COTR) and Tail Length (TL) in Simmental cattle, candidate genes associated with tail length, such as KIF26B, ITPR2, SLC8A1, and SLIT3 were identified. Interestingly, candidate genes IL1RAP, AQP9, ITPR2, and PKD2 were also associated with metabolic inflammation in cattle tails. These genetic markers offer valuable insights into the traits of Simmental cattle, facilitating the development of molecular breeding strategies to enhance production value and provide references for breeding programs.

    Keywords: genetic analysis, Milk production, Meat production, phenotypic traits, tail length

    Received: 05 Sep 2024; Accepted: 15 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Jiang, Zhao, Liao, Shen, Xiao, Jia, Sun and Lai. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Songjia Lai, College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China

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