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Women in Science Mentoring Program (2018)
SG-003: Unlock the potential of Begait cattle: genome wide assessment of genetic diversity, population structure and sssociation study using high density single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) marker
PI: Selam Meseret Adinew, Ethiopian Biotechnology Institute
Project Dates: October 2019 - July 2021
Project Overview
Ethiopia has the highest cattle population in Africa, with an estimated 70 million total cattle in the country, and cattle farming plays a pivotal role in the livelihood of smallholder farmers. The majority of the animals are indigenous breeds, well adapted to the local environment and distributed in diverse topographic and climatic conditions in the country. One of the best known breeds for dairy production in Ethiopia is Begait. This project sought to identify baseline data for genetic conservation to unlock the genetic potential of Begait cattle. The results from this research will help to identify appropriate animals for selection programs to increase milk production and improve its composition to produce quality cheese.
The PI mentored female student researchers as part of this project, offering hands-on training on data collection and analysis, molecular laboratory work, and paper writing. The project also supported graduate thesis work, and the research results generated rarely-available data on from indigenous cattle and formed the baseline for future work and grant proposals.
Final Summary of Project Activities
The researchers began their work targeting a Begait cattle breed kept in the nucleus breeding herd in Humera, Tigray Region, seeking to genotype the breed to perform a genome-wide association study (GWAS). They captured pedigree information, milk yield and quality (such as composition of fat, protein, and lactose), and reproduction-related data points using a customized open data kit digital tool. Unfortunately, this work could not be completed because of unrest and political instability in the study area. Pure Begait cattle are not found in other parts of the country in large enough numbers to conduct GWAS, so the researchers turned to identifying genetic diversity and possible k-casein (CSN3) and beta-lactoglobulin (LGB) gene polymorphism among various Ethiopian breeds.
They extracted genomic DNA from blood samples collected from a breeding dairy farm in central Ethiopia, including Begin, Borena, Fogera, and crossbreeds. The team observed genetic diversity both among and within breeds and proved polymorphism in the study population. The team noted that this suggests that selection of animals can improve the genetics of the cattle population, as LGB and CSNs genes both have an effect on milk production.
The milk yield and composition data generated from the Begait cattle under free grazing were on the higher side compared to data from other research on Ethiopian indigenous and exotic breeds, indicating a higher potential of the breed and need for future research. The researchers presented their results at the Ethiopian Biotechnology Institute, Addis Ababa University, and other partner organizations.
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