Association of BoLA-DRB3 genotype with somatic cell count in milk of Polish Holstein cattle

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the suitability of the BoLA-DRB3 gene polymorphism to define the phenotypic value of somatic cell count of 808 Polish Holstein cows. The cows were fathered by 190 sires. The PCR-RFLP alleles were identified with the BstYI, HaeIII, and RsaI restriction enzymes. For statistical analysis, 17 alleles whose frequencies in the herds were equal to or higher than 2% were selected. Somatic cell count was analyzed based either on the lactation averages or on test-day yields. Significant relationship between the occurrence of the BoLA-DRB3 gene alleles and somatic cell count were stated. In case of estimating the effects for all lactations together, the effect of substitution was observed for 11 alleles. The overall effects of four alleles (*12, *23, *24, and *ndb) were statistically significant and their effects were repeated in at least two lactations in the analysis of each lactation separately. The most numerous relationships were found for allele *24, which influences were statistically significant in lactations I to III in the analysis of all lactations together