Association between single-nucleotide polymorphisms and milk production traits in buffalo.

Area of Science:

• Animal Genetics
• Dairy Science
• Genomics

Background:

• Understanding genetic markers for milk production and quality is crucial for dairy animal improvement.
• Cross-species transferability of genetic markers offers a cost-effective approach for genomic studies in related species.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in buffaloes associated with milk yield, milk content, and somatic cell scores.
• To evaluate the efficacy of cattle-derived SNPs for genomic analysis in buffaloes.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 15,745 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) using a high-density bovine BeadChip.
• Application of Bonferroni's correction for multiple testing to identify significant associations.

Main Results:

• Several significant SNPs were associated with buffalo milk production and quality traits.
• Two significant SNPs were identified on cattle chromosomes BTA15 and BTA20, homologous to buffalo chromosomes BBU16 and BBU19.
• The bovine BeadChip demonstrated suitability for genomic analysis in buffaloes.

Conclusions:

• The study successfully identified SNPs influencing buffalo milk traits using cross-species transferability.
• Genomic analysis in buffaloes can be effectively performed using bovine SNP arrays.
• Further buffalo genome sequencing is recommended for precise localization of trait-associated SNPs.