Mapping the quantitative trait loci (QTL) for body shape and conformation measurements on BTA1 in Japanese Black cattle

The detection and mapping of segregating quantitative trait loci (QTL) that influence withers height, hip height, hip width, body length, chest width, chest depth, shoulder width, lumbar width, thurl width, pin bone width, rump length, cannon circumference, chest girth, abdominal width and abdominal girth at weaning was conducted on chromosomal regions of bovine chromosome one. The QTL analysis was performed by genotyping half-sib progeny of five Japanese Black sires using microsatellite DNA markers, Probability coefficients of inheriting allele 1 or 2 from the sire at specific chromosomal locations were computed. The phenotypic data of progeny were regressed on these probability coefficients in a within-common-parent regression analysis using a linear model that included fixed effects of sex, parity and season of birth, as well as age as a covariate. F-statistics were calculated every 1 cM on a linkage map. Permutation tests of 10 000 iterations were conducted to obtain chromosome-wide significance thresholds. A significant QTL for chest width was detected at 91 cM in family 3. The detection of this QTL boosts the prospects of implementing marker-assisted selection for body conformation traits in Japanese Black beef cattle.