Novel polymorphisms of the KCNB1 gene and their association with production traits in Indian Sahiwal cattle

Mastitis in cattle is a prevalent mammary gland disease that contributes significantly to the increase in veterinary expenditures in the dairy sector. KCNB1 (Potassium voltage-gated channel, subfamily B member 1) gene is involved in regulating apoptosis, cell proliferation and differentiation, udder epithelial tissue maintenance and repair, mammary gland development and recommended as a candidate gene for production related traits in cattle. The purpose of this research was to detect the genetic variants of KCNB1 gene in Sahiwal cattle and to analyze the association between polymorphisms with milk production traits, udder traits, and teat traits in Sahiwal cattle. A total of 87 cattle were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism technique. Two single nucleotide polymorphisms within the non-coding sequence of KCNB1 gene were identified (g.78216220G>A and g.78216335A>G). Analysis of productivity traits within the genotyped animals revealed that the SNP1-Msp1 locus (g.78216220G>A) located at intron 1 was associated with milk production traits, but the SNP2-BspHI locus (g.78216335A>G) had no association with milk production. Significant associations were also observed between SNP1-Msp1 and SNP2-BspHI loci with both udder and teat traits. Our results demonstrate that polymorphisms in the cattle KCNB1 gene were associated with milk production, udder and teat traits and might be utilized as a genetic marker for marker-assisted selection in cattle breeding programs.