Genome Wide Association Studies for Net Feed Intake, Body Weight and Hip Height in Beef Cattle

We report on a genome-wide association study (GWAS) from the CRC for Beef Genetic Technologies using the 50k Illumina SNP chip. Here, we present the results for net feed intake (NFI), body weight and hip height. The aims of this analysis are to discover SNPs associated with all traits but especially NFI and to test the consistency of SNP effects across datasets and breed types using the weight and height data. The data were analysed within datasets and within breed type using a mixed model and fitting one SNP at a time. In each case the number of significant SNPs was more than expected by chance alone. However, the SNP effects for weight and height were consistent between datasets only when estimated in the same breed type (B.inducus x B.taurus composite breeds). While NFI was only measured in one dataset, we found 9 SNPs associated with NFI on BTA 3, 5, 7 and 8 with P≤ 6.0×10.