Loci associated with spontaneous abortion in primiparous Holstein cattle

作者：Emaly M. Suarez, Victoria C. Kelson, Jennifer N. Kiser, Kimberly M Davenport, Brenda M. Murdoch, Allison L. Herrick, Holly L. Neibergs · 发表于：Frontiers in Veterinary Science · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.3389/fvets.2025.1599401 · 被引用次数：2 · 研究领域：Reproductive Physiology in Livestock、Genetic and phenotypic traits in livestock、Reproductive Biology and Fertility

Introduction: Spontaneous abortion (SA) in cattle refers to pregnancy loss occurring between days 42 and 260 of gestation. SA is costly, inefficient, and often leads to premature culling of cows. Methods: This study aimed to identify loci associated with SA in primiparous Holstein cows by conducting a genome-wide association analysis of cows bred via artificial insemination (AI; 679 controls and 69 cases that aborted) or that were embryo transfer (ET) recipients (236 controls and 41 cases) from a single dairy. Results: In AI-bred cows, 86 loci (413 single nucleotide polymorphisms or SNPs) and 168 positional candidate genes were associated (FDR <0.05) with SA, while in ET recipients, 4 loci (10 SNPs) and 16 positional candidate genes were associated (FDR <0.05) with SA. No SA-associated loci were shared between AI-bred or ET recipient cows, but nine associated loci (FDR <0.05) in AI-bred cows were shared with AI-bred heifers. Discussion: derived embryos, or a larger sample size may be needed to identify additional shared loci. Identifying loci associated with SA in AI-bred and ET recipient cows provides an opportunity to enhance selection for reproductive efficiency in Holstein cattle.