Acta Vet. Brno 2010, 79: 237-242

https://doi.org/10.2754/avb201079020237

Associations between Leptin Gene Polymorphisms and Somatic Cell Count in Milk of Jersey Cows

Hanna Kulig, Marek Kmieć, Katarzyna Wojdak-Maksymiec

Westpomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin, Department of Genetics and Animal Breeding, Szczecin, Poland

Received December 30, 2008
Accepted December 3, 2009

A total of 181 Jersey cows were used to investigate how leptin gene polymorphisms affect somatic cell count (SCC) in milk. Three single nucleotide polymorphisms were genotyped, namely the R4C polymorphism in exon 2, the Sau3AI polymorphism in intron 2 and the A59V polymorphism in exon 3. The genotype and allele frequencies for each polymorphism and the haplotype frequencies for all polymorphisms were estimated in the herd under study. Statistical analysis revealed that the R4C and Sau3AI polymorphisms significantly affected SCC (P ⪬ 0.01) with C and T as a desirable allele, respectively. No associations were found between the A59V polymorphism and SCC in this study. However, all the genotype combinations (haplotypes) significantly affected this trait. The results indicate that selection for the R4C CC and Sau3AI TT animals might contribute to a reduction of SCC in Jersey cattle.

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