Abstract
ABSTRACT Lipocalin-2 (LCN2) is a secreted protein, produced e.g. by neutrophils – the main group of cells involved in inflammatory conditions caused by pathogenic bacteria. So far, no studies have been carried out on the genetic variability of the LCN2 gene in cattle in terms of immunity/susceptibility to mastitis in cows. This study concerns the analysis of polymorphisms within the LCN2 gene in cattle and their impact on the production traits and the incidence of mastitis in Polish Holstein-Friesian cows. Using the PCR-RFLP method, two polymorphisms – g.98784892C > T and g.98784893T > G – were identified in intron 5 of the LCN2 gene, which represent two haplotypes (CT and TG, respectively). The CT haplotype was shown to have a significant impact on the average somatic cell score of milk, however, the CT and TG haplotypes were found to have no impact on the milk yield, protein, fat and lactose levels, or the incidence of mastitis in cows. An analysis of polymorphisms in the bovine LCN2 gene could be employed in future to support selection in dairy cattle breeding programmes focused towards the somatic cell count in milk, and the LCN2 gene itself could become a molecular marker of cows’ immunity to mastitis.
Highlights
Mastitis is a serious disease of dairy cattle
The CT haplotype was shown to have a significant impact on the average somatic cell score of milk, the CT and TG haplotypes were found to have no impact on the milk yield, protein, fat and lactose levels, or the incidence of mastitis in cows
LCN2 interferes with the siderophore-mediated transport system by capturing bacterial siderophores produced by various, mostly pathogenic, bacteria such as Escherichia coli, which had a significant impact on susceptibility to infections and sepsis in mice with LCN2 deficiency (Xiao et al 2017)
Summary
Mastitis is a serious disease of dairy cattle It increases the costs of milk production, causes substantial economic losses in most households worldwide, and reduces the technological quality of milk. It is one of the most common reasons for the culling of heifers and cows (Aghamohammadi et al 2018). An elevated somatic cell count in milk is usually a response of the immune system to inflammation of the mammary glands, which is mostly of bacterial origin, and as such it is considered an indicator of udder health status and an indicator of technological quality of milk (Sharma et al 2011). The lipocalin-2 gene could be one of them (Pighetti and Elliott 2011; Abella et al 2015)
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