Elucidating genetic characteristics of the Kumamoto sub-breed of Japanese Brown cattle with DNA markers for economically important traits

Abstract

Wagyu, a variety of beef cattle of Japanese origin, includes four genetically distinct breeds: Japanese Black, Japanese Brown, Japanese Shorthorn, and Japanese Polled (Gotoh et al. 2018). Japanese Brown cattle, raised mainly in the Kumamoto and Kochi prefectures, are the second most popular breed among the Wagyu breeds. The coat color patterns of the sub-breeds found in these two prefectures are apparently different, suggesting genetic isolation between

Causative alleles for chondrodysplastic dwarfism, factor XI deficiency, and factor XIII deficiency in the Kumamoto sub‐breed of Japanese Brown cattle

“…In this study, we detected the L allele of F11 c.870_884ins in the Kumamoto sub‐breed at a frequency similar to that reported in our previous study (Kimura et al, 2021). L/L individuals exhibit factor XI deficiency (Kunieda et al, 2005), but most can grow normally owing to their mild phenotype (Ohba et al, 2008), which might be the reason for the high frequency of this causative allele.…”

“…Although the T/T genotype EVC2 c.1356C > T does not seem to cause the disease, some cattle with chondrodysplastic dwarfism are compound heterozygous for EVC2 c.1356C > T and c.2327_2328delinsG (Takeda et al, 2002). In this study, we detected the L allele of F11 c.870_884ins in the Kumamoto sub-breed at a frequency similar to that reported in our previous study (Kimura et al, 2021). L/L individuals exhibit factor XI deficiency (Kunieda et al, 2005), but most can grow normally owing to their mild phenotype (Ohba et al, 2008), which might be the reason for the high frequency of this causative allele.…”

“…Although all Wagyu breeds have distinct genetic characteristics, the Kumamoto sub-breed and Japanese Black cattle are relatively genetically close (Kawaguchi et al, 2022), suggesting that the Kumamoto sub-breed may contain animals with mutations responsible for the genetic diseases identified in Japanese Black cattle. Our previous studies detected mutations causing factor XI deficiency and Chediak-Higashi syndrome in the Kumamoto sub-breed (Kimura et al, 2021(Kimura et al, , 2022. Therefore, in the current study, 11 mutations responsible for nine genetic diseases were genotyped to evaluate the risk of genetic diseases in the Kumamoto sub-breed.…”

Leptin gene contributes to beef marbling standard, meat brightness, meat firmness, and beef fat standard of the Kumamoto sub‐breed of Japanese Brown cattle

“…Carcass traits are quantitative traits controlled by polygenes, suggesting DNA markers for these traits will enhance the breeding of the Kumamoto sub‐breed. Although we previously elucidated part of their genetic characteristics with several DNA markers for carcass traits (Kimura et al, 2021), genetic information of the Kumamoto sub‐breed is still limited. Therefore, we tried to clarify the effects of Leptin ( LEP ) gene on carcass traits of the Kumamoto sub‐breed, one of the candidate genes associated with carcass traits (Matsumoto et al, 2013).…”