Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 24, 2025

Shifting Zebrafish Lethal Skeletal Mutant Penetrance by Progeny Testing
Published on: September 1, 2017
Colour-sidedness in Gloucester cattle is associated with a complex structural variant impacting regulatory elements
M Artesi1, N Tamma1, M Deckers1
1Unit of Animal Genomics, GIGA Institute, University of Liège, 1, avenue de l'hôpital, Liège, 4000, Belgium.
Abstract:
Colour-sidedness is a striking coat colour pattern found in a number of cattle breeds, typically characterised by a white stripe that extends along the back, head and belly of the animal. This dominant phenotype is caused by two related translocations (Cs6 and Cs29 ) that alter a region downstream of the KIT gene. Gloucester cattle are native to the UK and are known for an unusual colour-sided pattern that does not extend to the head. We carried out whole-genome sequencing of two Gloucester bulls as well as colour-sided Irish Moiled, British White and Pustertaler Sprinzen for comparison. We found that the Gloucester cattle also have a complex structural variant downstream of KIT, which overlaps the regions involved in Cs6 and Cs29 . All three alleles potentially disrupt a number of putative regulatory elements downstream of KIT. These results complement and expand on the recently published work focused on the Pinzgauer breed from Austria, a carrier of the same colour-sided pattern as seen in Gloucester cattle.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Pleiotropy
Epistasis
Position-effect Variegation
Incomplete Dominance
Epistasis Analysis
Background and Environment Affect Phenotype
An example of how genetic background affects phenotype can be seen in horses. The Extension gene in horses is responsible for their coat color. A wild-type gene (EE) produces black pigment in the coat, while a mutant gene (ee) produces red pigment. A...

