Animal Science Abstract
Associations of PrP genotypes with live weight and slaughter traits in an experimental flock of Swaledale sheep in Great Britain
W.Y.N. Man1,A, S. Brotherstone1, B.G. Merrell2, W.A. Murray2 and B. Villanueva1
AE-mail: Nicola.Man@sac.ac.uk
1Scottish Agricultural College, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JG, UK2ADAS Redesdale, Rochester, Otterburn, Newcastle on Tyne NE19 1SB, UK
Abstract
Polymorphisms at codons 136, 154 and 171 of the gene encoding the prion protein (PrP) are associated with susceptibility to classical scrapie in sheep. Genetic selection for scrapie resistance based on PrP genotypes is central to the scrapie eradication programme in Great Britain but there are concerns about how this may affect other economically important traits. The objective of this study was to evaluate associations of PrP genotypes with live weight and slaughter traits in a hill sheep breed in Great Britain. Data used were from an experimental flock of Swaledale sheep in which the alleles ARR, ARQ, AHQ and VRQ are present. About 1450 genotyped lambs with birth, marking and weaning weights, and 620 with slaughter records were used for the study. Mixed models with various fixed effects and random direct genetic and maternal effects were tested to determine the appropriate model to use for each trait. None of the differences in lamb performance between PrP genotypes consistently reached significance. Therefore, this study does not support existence of significant relationships between PrP genotype and lamb performance traits in this breed.
Keywords: gene associations, prion diseases, scrapie, sheep, variance components.
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