Eradicating deleterious alleles
The unfortunate consequence of intensive selection is a
reduction in genetic diversity, not only at the loci under
selection, but also at all loci across the genome. Selective
breeding may also inadvertently increase the frequency of
deleterious recessive alleles at loci that are linked to those
under selection. In dairy cattle a limited number of sires are
used as donors for AI. The same sires are also used as the
gene pool to produce the next generation of sires.
This practice inevitably leads to an increase in inbreeding and
an increased possibility that the progeny will receive the
regions of the genome that are identical by descent from each
of the parents.
Bovine leukocyte adhesion deficiency
In the early 1990s a disease of young Holstein calves was
observed that was characterised by pneumonia, delayed
healing of wounds, and death. This disease followed an
autosomal recessive pattern of inheritance and showed a
similar pathology to leukocyte adhesion deficiency in man.
The defective gene in the human form of the disease
encodes the cluster of differentiation antigen
18 (CD18) protein. Subsequent sequencing of this gene
from affected calves revealed a mutation within the bovine
CD18 gene, and the disease was therefore called bovine
leukocyte adhesion deficiency (BLAD). At the time the
disease was identified the defective allele had reached a
frequency of 15% in bulls used for AI in the United States
of America and 8% in the cow population (12).
The mutation was traced to Osborndale Ivanhoe: the bull
that has had the largest known impact on the Holstein gene
pool. Using a PCR RFLP test developed to detect the defect
in the CD18 gene, it was possible to identify BLAD
carriers and ensure that they were not used for
breeding, thus, gradually eliminating this defect from
the population.
Using molecular genetic
information to understand
phenotypic variation
For many decades genetic improvement in livestock has
focused on traits that have an impact on the profitability of
agricultural enterprises; generally the focus has been on the
selection for simple traits that are easy to measure. However,
many traits that have an impact on profitability and welfare,
such as feed conversion efficiency, fertility, and disease
resistance, are difficult to measure and therefore are not
routinely recorded. Obtaining the necessary phenotype
information to carry out a selective breeding programme
would be expensive. Furthermore, using traditional
methods, the improvement in one trait is often compromised
by simultaneous selection for other traits. Identification of
the genes that control desired traits has the potential to
enable selection for a trait based on the genotype of animals.
In theory, once sufficient knowledge is available, individuals
carrying beneficial genes for several traits could be identified
using DNA markers and mated to produce progeny that will
express many of the desired traits simultaneously. While the
scientific community is a long way from acquiring this level
of knowledge, research is underway to identify the genes
involved in a wide range of traits, as described above. The
ultimate goal of molecular genetics is to understand how
alleles of the genes controlling various traits interact and
control the observed variations in the phenotype