Current Status of Blood Groups in Cattle

Abstract

The discovery of additional phenotypic variability in relatively long-established systems of blood groups sometimes comes about rather suddenly after long periods of quiescence. The M-N system of man (Landsteiner and Levine, 1928) is a case in point, For a period of approximately 20 years that system was regarded for all purposes as a two-blood-factor (M and N), two-allele (LM and LN), three-phenotype (M, MN, and N) system, even though variants (Nz) of agglutinogen N were known. Then, beginning with the discovery of blood factor S (Walsh and Montgomery, 1947), the M-N-S system, as it is presently known, has become expanded into a polyphenotype system involving numerous alleles, perhaps well over 30. The F-V system of cattle was, at the time of its inception in 1943, a perfect analogue in infrahuman species of the original M-N system of man. Like M-N, it appeared as a two-blood-factor 5 (normal sheep serum); 6 (normal goat serum); 7 (normal Pronghorn antelope serum); 8 (sheep anticattle); 9 (goat anticattle); 10 (rabbit antihuman A); 11 (cattle antihuman A); 12 (cattle antibison) ; 13 (rabbit antibison) ; 14 (rabbit anticamel); 15 (see Discussion).

Additional Blood Group Systems in the Chicken

“…The minimum of 10 blood group loci for the chicken showing independent inheritance except for loose linkage compares to 12 reported in cattle (Stormont, 1961), 9 in man (Wiener, 1961), 9 in swine (Andresen, 1961), 7 in sheep (ICasmusen, 1961), and 7 in dogs (Swisher et al, 1961). Since most blood group loci are known to be polymorphic, they may serve as a series of marked loci readily available for use in many types of investigations.…”

Comments on the early history of immunogenetics12

“…(Undoubtedly, this represents one of the ways responsible for the remarkable process of evolution.) Examples of recombinations have been obtained in the B system of cattle and in two systems in chickens, (Stormont, 1965;Datta et al, 1959;Bouw & Fiorentine, 1970;Oosterlee & BOUW, 1972). Although the author at one time (1949) considered that the B system could be accounted for by assuming (a) closely linked genes or (b) a series of multiple alleles, it seemed more likely then that multiple alleles provided the better explanation.…”

Differentiation between Lithuanian White-Backed and Lithuanian Black-and-White (old genotype) cattle using blood groups

“…Cattle have eleven different blood type systems. Every system has a different number of blood group factors (Stormont, 1962;Bitzmann, 2009;Miller, 1966;Penedo, 2000). Therefore, a blood typing method was widely applied for a cattle parentage analysis.…”