AI Article Synopsis
- Cattle body size has fluctuated significantly from the Neolithic period to the Early Modern Ages, with height decreasing by about 1.5 times before increasing again.
- Evidence from haplotype analysis indicates that the PLAG1 mutation (Q), influencing body size and reproduction, is over 1,000 years old and surged in frequency in Northwestern European cattle from the 16th to the 18th centuries.
- The Q mutation was later introduced into non-European cattle breeds in the 19th and 20th centuries, showcasing its significant impact on the modern cattle's body size through a genomic selection process.
Article Abstract
The recent evolution of cattle is marked by fluctuations in body size. Height in the Bos taurus lineage was reduced by a factor of ~1.5 from the Neolithic to the Middle Ages, and increased again only during the Early Modern Ages. Using haplotype analysis, we found evidence that the bovine PLAG1 mutation (Q) with major effects on body size, weight and reproduction is a >1,000 years old derived allele that increased rapidly in frequency in Northwestern European B. taurus between the 16 and 18 centuries. Towards the 19 and 20 centuries, Q was introgressed into non-European B. taurus and Bos indicus breeds. These data implicate a major role of Q in recent changes in body size in modern cattle, and represent one of the first examples of a genomic sweep in livestock that was driven by selection on a complex trait.
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Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5719367 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-17127-1 | DOI Listing |
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