Genomic regions associated with stature in European Bos taurus
Based on strong recent selection for stature in European Bos taurus, our comparison of the large cohort with the small cohort successfully localized height-related genes at all significant regions (regions 1, 6, 10, and 11). Regions 1 and 11 can be considered novel and may contain functional variants contributing to the genetic control of bovine stature, because they harbor DUSP23 (BTA-3: 10.02-10.03 Mb) and POLR2A (BTA-19: 27.78-27.80) as candidate genes, respectively (Lanktree et al. 2011).
There can be some advantages of limiting body size in smaller breeds, for instance, in relation to ease of calving or resource-limited production systems. As noted above, early domestication favored selective breeding to reduce body size for ease of management (Karim et al. 2011; Ajmone-Marsan et al. 2010). With very few exceptions (e.g., Dexter), recent history of European Bos taurus breeds do not document selective breeding for smaller size. Interestingly, 60% of all significant regions can be considered novel in the small cohort and harbor stature-associated genes, namely PKN2 at region 3 (Lanktree et al. 2011), ATP5G2 and ATF7 at region 5 (Okada et al. 2010), and CAMLG, DDX46, TXNDC15, CATSPER3, and PITX1 at region 7 (Gudbjartsson et al. 2008). The functional role of these candidate genes in relation to stature is not well-documented.