The relationship between polymorphism of the CXCR1 gene and the risk of endometritis in Holstein dairy cows

Abstract

Endometritis is one of the reproductive diseases that can cause disturbances of postpartum uterine health in cattle. Therefore, identification of resistant genotypes to endometritis is essential. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between the single nucleotide polymorphism in the interleukin-8 receptor-α (CXCR1) gene and the possibility of endometritis in Holstein dairy cows. For this purpose, blood samples were collected from multiparous dairy cows with a history of clinical endometritis (n = 30), and normal, healthy cows as the control group (n = 10). Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) was isolated from a blood sample. To determine genotype, the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism technique (PCR-RFLP) was used. The results indicated the presence of a different proportion of polymorphisms (G > C) in the CXCR1 gene in cows with clinical endometritis, compared to the control group. Statistical analyses showed that there is a significant correlation between the incidence of the disease and the CXCR1 genotype in nucleotide position 956. The incidence rate of clinical endometritis was associated with the CXCR1.956 genotype; cows with genotype GC had a higher incidence of clinical endometritis compared with cows with the GG genotype. Overall, the results showed that CXCR1 polymorphism could be a useful marker for identification of resistant genotypes to endometritis in Holstein dairy cows.