Genetic variation of the candidate loci controlling twinning in the beef and dairy cattle breeds in Indonesia

Abstract

Multiple births or twinning in cattle is viewed as a natural phenomenon that still needs to be explored in the genetic aspect. The occurrence of twinning birth in cattle has been found in Indonesia both on beef and dairy breeds, however, the frequency is very low. This study aimed to identify the genetic variation of the candidate loci of Bovine chromosome 10 (BTA10) to control twinning in beef and dairy cattle in Indonesia. At least 57 historical twin births of both beef and dairy breeds across Central Java with the highest twins in cattle, were identified in 2017 during the dry season. The ratio of twin calves was relatively similar between female and male calves. Male twins showed the highest number (37.8%), while freemartin heifers were also highly born (28.9%) among twin births. Forty-nine heads out of 152 heads were sequenced on the partial regions in BTA10 that were highly homologous with the ovulation rate gene. DNA sequences polymorphism was identified at three regions in the BTA10 among twins of Simmental, Ongole, Limousin, Simmental-Ongole, and Holstein Friesian cattle. A significant association was not revealed between identified SNP and twinning birth potential in all breeds. Notably, one SNP (A/G) at 410 nucleotides in the consensus sequence of BTA10-2 appeared to be highly significantly associated with twinning birth potential in beef cattle of the Simmental. Taken together, this SNP would be a potential genetic marker for early selection of twinning birth which is promising for dramatic improvement of beef cattle production.