Single nucleotide polymorphisms concordant with the horned/polled trait in Holsteins

BACKGROUND: Cattle that naturally do not grow horns are referred to as polled, a trait inherited in a dominant Mendelian fashion. Previous studies have localized the polled mutation (which is unknown) to the proximal end of bovine chromosome 1 in a region approximately 3 Mb in size. While a polled genetic test, Tru-Polled™, is commercially available from MetaMorphix Inc., Holsteins are not a validated breed for this test. FINDINGS: Approximately 160 kb were sequenced within the known polled region from 12 polled and 12 horned Holsteins. Analysis of the polymorphisms identified 13 novel single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that are concordant with the horned/polled trait. Three of the 13 SNPs are located in gene coding or regulatory regions (e.g., the untranslated region, or UTR) where one is located in the 3'UTR of a gene and the other two are located in the 5'UTR and coding region (synonymous SNP) of another gene. The 3'UTR of genes have been shown to be targets of microRNAs regulating gene expression. In silico analysis indicates the 3'UTR SNP may disrupt a microRNA target site. CONCLUSION: These 13 novel SNPs concordant with the horned/polled trait in Holsteins represent a test panel for the breed and this is the first report to the authors' knowledge of SNPs within gene coding or regulatory regions concordant with the horned/polled trait in cattle. These SNPs will require further testing for verification and further study to determine if the 3'UTR SNP may have a functional effect on the polled trait in Holsteins.