A retrospective study of the inheritance of peromelia in Angora goats

Peromelia, agenesia of the distal parts of the limbs, has been reported as a congenital defect in several animal species. In Angora goats, cases occur in a familiar pattern consistent with an autosomal recessively inherited defect. To obtain further evidence on the inheritance of peromelia in Angora goats, breeding results for goats being daughters of known carriers and which were then mated to a known carrier were analysed. Of 45 kids born in 1993 and 1994, five kids had peromelia. This corresponded to the expected 7:1 segregation. The difference between the number of affected male and female kids was not statistically significant. Peromelia affected kids occurred significantly more frequently among goats selected in the breeding study than among other goats in the respective herds. The study demonstrated that peromelia is inherited as an autosomal recessive defect. Based on knowledge obtained in a previous study, the genotype probably has varying degrees of expressivity.