Quantitative trait loci exploration and characterization of gestation length in Holstein cattle

Gestation length (GL) is a moderately heritable trait in cattle with economic and management implications. This study aimed to characterize the gestation length of an Argentinian Holstein cattle population, understand contributing factors, and explore the GL effect on production performance. Further objectives were to estimate direct and maternal heritabilities for this trait and to identify genomic regions affecting it. Data consisted of GL records from 45,738 births corresponding to 17,004 Holstein cows and heifers. The effects of age and calving season over GL were analyzed using a Student's t-test for homoscedastic samples. The effects of the GL category (GL shorter than 1.5 SD, within ±1.5 SD, and longer than 1.5 SD from the mean) on production performance were studied by analysis of variance. A single-step genome-wide association study was performed using the BLUPF90 suite of programs with genotypes from 654 Holstein animals on 40,339 SNP. The results showed that the younger the age at calving, the shorter the GL. Moreover, gestations ending in warmer seasons were, in general, statistically shorter than those ending in colder seasons for both heifers and cows. Regarding the effect of GL on production performance, cows with gestation periods within ±1.5 SD from the population mean exhibited the highest 305-day cumulative milk, fat, and protein productions. Direct and maternal heritabilities for GL were 0.42 and 0.03, respectively. We detected a SNP suggestively associated with direct gestation length at 57.7 Mb on Bos taurus autosome 18, a locus included in a region described in the literature as associated with the trait. The information obtained on the environmental and genetic factors affecting GL in Argentinian Holstein cows contributes to characterizing the population in pursuit of improving the performance of national dairy cattle breeding systems.