Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Despite being one of the most iconic and immediately recognizable traits in domestic cattle, the variants underpinning the white-spotted coat pattern of Holstein-Friesian and related breeds remain uncharacterized. Here, we report two variants modulating these effects, comprising intronic and long-distance–acting regulatory variants of the MITF and KIT genes. We confirm causality through “Holsteinized” mouse models edited for these alleles and show that these variants are likely responsible for spotting traits in other bovine breeds. These effects include epistatic impacts on other bovine coat patterns, such as fine-scale speckling, “black socks,” and reversal of the otherwise dominant, “white-face” trait characteristic of Hereford cattle.
Source: Science Advances
Authors: Swati Jivanji, Emma Wilkinson, Lijing Tang, Kathryn M. Tiplady, Anna Yeates, Chad Harland, Charlotte Gray, Christine Couldrey, Gemma Worth, Isabelle Gamache, Jade Desjardins, John A. A. Tabares, Nobuko Yamanaka, Lorna McNaughton, Louise Brennan, Marie-Pier Cloutier, Mitra Cowan, Renae Ellison, Tony Fransen, Tracey Monehan, Richard J. Spelman, Russell G. Snell, Carole Charlier, Yojiro Yamanaka, Dorian Garrick, Richard Mort, Mathew D. Littlejohn
Language: English
Subfield: Genetics
Domain: Life Sciences
SDG: Zero hunger
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $4,500
Award: G7072282985
OpenAlex ID: W4416214979