Chemical classification of cattle. 1. Breed groups

Abstract

Summary From approximately 1000 papers with data on protein polymorphism in some 216 breeds of cattle, 10 polymorphic proteins were compared in means and variances of gene frequencies (arcsin p½) for ten well‐recognized breed groups for 196 of the breeds. The polymorphic proteins were α‐lactalbumin, β‐lactoglobulin, caseins (αsl, β and x), serum albumin, transferrin, haemoglobin, amylase I and carbonic anhydrase II. The breed groups were North European, Pied Lowland, European Red brachyceros, Channel Island brachyceros, Upland brachyceros, primigenius‐brachyceros mixed, primigenius, Indian Zebu, African Humped (with Zebu admixture), and African Humped (Sanga). The coherence within groups and the differences between groups are often impressive. Only carbonic anhydrase II fails to differentiate at least some of the major breed groups. In some cases paradoxical distributions of rare genetic variants can be explained by a more detailed inspection of breed history. The chemical data support the morphological and geographical divisions of cattle into major breed groups. There are three distinct but related brachyceros groups; for some polymorphisms the two Channel Island breeds, the Jersey and the Guernsey, are quite divergent. Although some authorities have considered the Pied Lowland as primigenius, it is a very distinct breed group.

On the Breeds of Cattle—Historic and Current Classifications

“…After the biochemical studies of Baker and Manwell from 1980 [13], based on limited numbers of genetic markers, the last decade saw the analysis of more comprehensive breed panels with DNA-based markers [12]. These are now being superseded by high-throughput SNP genotyping and even genomic sequencing.…”

“…Using data on 10 polymorphic proteins Baker and Manwell (1980) [13] compared allele frequencies in 196 breeds and proposed 10 well-defined groups of cattle breeds (Table S27), stating "… breed groups …. are alluded to frequently in both historical and modern writings on cattle.…”

“…So the breed's history argues against a grouping of the red dairy cattle from Belgium and the Baltic coast. Baker and Manwell [13] further classified within the European group breeds from other continents with a recent history of crossbreeding: the Asian Ala-tau, several American Criollo breeds, Mexican Fighting cattle, Texas Longhorns and the Cuban Tinima breed.…”

“…Figure 10 compares the biochemical [13], the integrative [2] and the molecular-genetic classification ( Figure 9; Table S34). Most genetic breed clusters are within a single category of the other classifications, implying that these categories correspond to genetic realities.…”

Interrogation of modern and ancient genomes reveals the complex domestic history of cattle

“…Domestic cattle are classified with binomial Linnean names, following convention and the work of Baker and Manwell (1980) and Grigson (1980): Bos taurus denotes humpless taurine cattle and Bos indicus denotes humped zebu (or indicine) cattle. Taurine cattle predominate in northern and western Africa and almost the whole of the Eurasian landmass, from northwest Europe to Japan, whereas zebu cattle are native to the Indian subcontinent and are also found in the Near and Middle East and most of eastern and southern Africa.…”