Vol. 8, Special Issue 2 (2023)

Author(s): Komal, Amandeep, Ritu, Nidhi Sukhija and Kanaka KK

Abstract: Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have been extensively used to identify genetic variants affecting production traits in a variety of livestock species. One of the biggest obstacles in performing GWAS is accurately selecting the most promising single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). A huge advantage of SNPs as genetic markers is their relatively low mutation rate (1 × 10⁻⁹ for SNPs and 1 × 10⁻⁵ for microsatellites), even distribution across all chromosomes, ease of implementation in high-throughput genotyping technologies and simple results standardization procedures. The standard disease and quantitative trait association tests can be carried out for linear and logistic regression models allowing for multiple binary or continuous covariates having both the main effects and interactions.Breeding plans can be created to enhance the frequency of advantageous alleles in the population by taking advantage of the identification of genomic areas that have favourable effects on mastitis incidence by virtue of expression of immune system related genes.