PLXNC1 and RDH13 associated with bilateral convergent strabismus with exophthalmus in German Brown cattle.

PURPOSE: We performed an association study for bilateral convergent strabismus with exophthalmus (BCSE) in German Brown cattle using single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) located within six positional candidate genes and additional SNPs from bovine SNP databases surrounding these candidate genes. Mutation analyses included synaptotagmin 3 and 5 (SYT3, SYT5), carnitine palmitoyl-transferase 1C (CPT1C) on bovine chromosome 18 (BTA18), and plexin C1 (PLXNC1), intracellular suppressor of cytokine signaling-2 (SOCS2), and kinesin family member 21A (KIF21A) on BTA5. METHODS: For all six candidate genes, we performed cDNA analyses using eye tissues of three BCSE-affected and three unaffected controls and searched the sequences for polymorphisms. Furthermore, we screened a total of 213 SNPs on BTA5 and 136 SNPs on BTA18 from the bovine SNP databases in 29 BCSE-affected German Brown cattle and 23 breed and sex matched controls for association with BCSE. All SNPs detected within the open reading frame (ORF) of the candidate genes and all SNPs from bovine databases putatively associated with BCSE in the detection sample were genotyped in a random sample of 179 BCSE-affected German Brown cows and 161 breed and sex matched controls and tested for association with BCSE. RESULTS: In total, we detected five novel SNPs within the coding sequence of the candidate genes PLXNC1 and KIF21A. The association analyses for single SNPs and haplotypes in 340 German Brown cattle revealed significant associations for five SNPs with BCSE. Four of these five SNPs were located within PLXNC1 and RDH13 and one SNP in the neighborhood of PLXNC1. Each one SNP within PLXNC1 (DN825458:c.168G>T) and RDH13 (AM930553:c.703C>A) were significantly associated with BCSE after correcting for multiple testing whereas all other SNPs failed this significance threshold. The marker-trait associations for haplotypes confirmed the significant associations with BCSE for both genes, PLXNC1 and RDH13. CONCLUSIONS: The association analyses for single SNPs and haplotypes corroborated the results of the linkage study that the centromeric region of BTA5 and the telomeric end of BTA8 harbor genes responsible for BCSE. Intragenic SNPs of the genes PLXNC1 and RDH13 were experiment-wide significantly associated with BCSE and seem to play an important role in the pathogenesis of BCSE.

Whole-genome scan identifies quantitative trait loci for chronic pastern dermatitis in German draft horses.

Chronic pastern dermatitis (CPD), also known as chronic progressive lymphedema (CPL), is a skin disease that affects draft horses. This disease causes painful lower-leg swelling, nodule formation, and skin ulceration, interfering with movement. The aim of this whole-genome scan was to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) for CPD in German draft horses. We recorded clinical data for CPD in 917 German draft horses and collected blood samples from these horses. Of these 917 horses, 31 paternal half-sib families comprising 378 horses from the breeds Rhenish German, Schleswig, Saxon-Thuringian, and South German were chosen for genotyping. Each half-sib family was constituted by only one draft horse breed. Genotyping was done for 318 polymorphic microsatellites evenly distributed on all equine autosomes and the X chromosome with a mean distance of 7.5 Mb. An across-breed multipoint linkage analysis revealed chromosome-wide significant QTL on horse chromosomes (ECA) 1, 9, 16, and 17. Analyses by breed confirmed the QTL on ECA1 in South German and the QTL on ECA9, 16, and 17 in Saxon-Thuringian draft horses. For the Rhenish German and Schleswig draft horses, additional QTL on ECA4 and 10 and for the South German draft horses an additional QTL on ECA7 were found. This is the first whole-genome scan for CPD in draft horses and it is an important step toward the identification of candidate genes.

Characterization of a minimal microsatellite set for whole genome scans informative in warmblood and coldblood horse breeds.

The availability of a high-quality draft sequence of the horse makes known the physical location of microsatellites. The aim of the present study was to establish a highly polymorphic minimal screening set of microsatellite markers for horses (MSSH) annotated on the horse genome assembly EquCab2.0. We have used the previously reported linkage and radiation hybrid maps and have extended these marker sets by filling in gaps as noted from annotation on the horse sequence. This MSSH covers all autosomes and the X chromosome with 322 evenly spaced microsatellites whose positions were determined on the horse genome assembly (EquCab2.0). The average chromosomal distance among markers amounts to 7.44 Mb. The characteristics established for this microsatellite set were the number of alleles, the observed heterozygosity (HET), and the polymorphism information content (PIC) for Hanoverian warmblood (HW) and several German coldblood horse breeds (CB). The average number of alleles was 7.3 and 8.0 in HW and CB, respectively. HET was at 71% for HW and CB, PIC at 65% (HW) and 67% (CB). This MSSH allows scanning of the whole horse genome at close to 7- to 10-Mb resolution.

Bilateral convergent strabismus with exophthalmus (BCSE) in cattle: an overview of clinical signs and genetic traits.

Bilateral convergent strabismus with exophthalmus (BCSE) is a heritable eye defect prevalent in many cattle breeds and known worldwide. BCSE shows a progressive course often terminating in complete blindness. The onset of the defect can sometimes be slowly progressing (late in life) and, as the first signs of the defect are frequently not noticed prior to first breeding, prevention cannot be achieved only by exclusion of affected animals from the breeding program. This paper provides an overview of the clinical signs, histopathology and genetics of BCSE, its distribution in different cattle breeds and analyses the association between milk production traits and US Brown Swiss. There were different modes of inheritance proposed for BCSE, but although an autosomal dominant major gene is considered most likely in German Brown cattle, an association with milk production traits could not be found. Comparative molecular genetic approaches could help to characterize the responsible genes for this ocular disease in cattle.

Transcription factor binding site polymorphism in the motilin gene associated with left-sided displacement of the abomasum in German Holstein cattle.

Left-sided displacement of the abomasum (LDA) is a common disease in many dairy cattle breeds. A genome-wide screen for QTL for LDA in German Holstein (GH) cows indicated motilin (MLN) as a candidate gene on bovine chromosome 23. Genomic DNA sequence analysis of MLN revealed a total of 32 polymorphisms. All informative polymorphisms used for association analyses in a random sample of 1,136 GH cows confirmed MLN as a candidate for LDA. A single nucleotide polymorphism (FN298674:g.90T>C) located within the first non-coding exon of bovine MLN affects a NKX2-5 transcription factor binding site and showed significant associations (OR(allele) = 0.64; -log(10)P(allele) = 6.8, -log(10)P(genotype) = 7.0) with LDA. An expression study gave evidence of a significantly decreased MLN expression in cows carrying the mutant allele (C). In individuals heterozygous or homozygous for the mutation, MLN expression was decreased by 89% relative to the wildtype. FN298674:g.90T>C may therefore play a role in bovine LDA via the motility of the abomasum. This MLN SNP appears useful to reduce the incidence of LDA in German Holstein cattle and provides a first step towards a deeper understanding of the genetics of LDA.

A MITF mutation associated with a dominant white phenotype and bilateral deafness in German Fleckvieh cattle.

A dominantly inherited syndrome associated with hypopigmentation, heterochromia irides, colobomatous eyes and bilateral hearing loss has been ascertained in Fleckvieh cattle (German White Fleckvieh syndrome). This syndrome has been mapped to bovine chromosome (BTA) 22 using a genome-wide association study with the bovine high density single nucleotide polymorphism array. An R210I missense mutation has been identified within microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF) as responsible for this syndrome. The mutation is located in the highly conserved basic region of the protein and causes a negative-dominant effect. SOX10 and PAX3 promoter binding site mutations in MITF could be ruled out as causative for the German White Fleckvieh syndrome. Molecular characterization of this newly detected bovine syndrome means a large animal model is now available for the Tietz syndrome in humans.

A frameshift mutation within LAMC2 is responsible for Herlitz type junctional epidermolysis bullosa (HJEB) in black headed mutton sheep.

Junctional epidermolysis bullosa (JEB) is a hereditary mechanobullous skin disease in humans and animals. A Herlitz type JEB was identified in German Black Headed Mutton (BHM) sheep and affected lambs were reproduced in a breeding trial. Affected lambs showed skin and mucous membranes blistering and all affected lambs died within the first weeks of life. The pedigree data were consistent with a monogenic autosomal recessive inheritance. Immunofluorescence showed a reduced expression of laminin 5 protein which consists of 3 subunits encoded by the genes LAMA3, LAMB3 and LAMC2. We screened these genes for polymorphisms. Linkage and genome-wide association analyses identified LAMC2 as the most likely candidate for HJEB. A two base pair deletion within exon 18 of the LAMC2 gene (FM872310:c.2746delCA) causes a frameshift mutation resulting in a premature stop codon (p.A928*) 13 triplets downstream of this mutation and in addition, introduces an alternative splicing of exon 18 LAMC2. This deletion showed a perfect co-segregation with HJEB in all 740 analysed BHM sheep. Identification of the LAMC2 deletion means an animal model for HJEB is now available to develop therapeutic approaches of relevance to the human form of this disease.

Molecular genetic analysis of the ATP2A2 gene as candidate for chronic pastern dermatitis in German draft horses.

Chronic pastern dermatitis predominantly affects draft horses, and this condition is characterized by hyperkeratotic-hyperplastic dermal alterations. Chronic pastern dermatitis resembles the acral-hemorrhagic phenotype of Darier-White disease in humans. The ATP2A2 gene has been shown to be responsible for human Darier-White. Thus, we chose ATP2A2 on equine chromosome 8 (ECA8) as candidate for chronic pastern dermatitis in coldblood horses. A linkage analysis was performed in 10 paternal half-sib families consisting of 85 German coldblood horses using a microsatellite closely linked to ATP2A2, a microsatellite within intron 5, 3 single-nucleotide polymorphisms within intron 3 of ATP2A2, and 5 more distantly located flanking microsatellites on ECA8. These markers were clearly not linked to pastern dermatitis and so our data proved that ATP2A2 is not responsible for chronic pastern dermatitis of German coldblood horses.

Fine mapping of the polled locus to a 1-Mb region on bovine chromosome 1q12.

The absence of horns in Bos taurus is under genetic control of the autosomal dominant polled locus which has been genetically mapped to the centromeric region of cattle Chromosome 1. Recently a 4-Mb BAC contig of this chromosomal region has been constructed. Toward positional cloning of the bovine polled locus, we identified 20 additional microsatellite markers spread over the contig map by random sequencing of bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) subclones. A total of 26 markers were genotyped in 30 two-generation half-sib families of six different German cattle breeds segregating for the hornless phenotype including 336 informative meioses for the polled character. Our fine-mapping study involving 19 recombinant haplotypes allowed us to narrow the critical region for the bovine polled locus to a 1-Mb segment with a centromeric boundary at RP42-218J17_MS1 and a telomeric boundary at BM6438. For marker-assisted selection purposes, the first evidence of informative flanking markers helps to predict polled genotypes with a higher degree of accuracy within families until testing of the causative mutation is available.