LACK OF ASSOCIATION OF BOVINE MHC CLASS-I ALLELES WITH CARCASS AND REPRODUCTIVE TRAITS

The present study was carried out to examine whether a relationship be tween bovine major histocompatibility complex (BoLA) class I alleles a nd carcass traits or reproductive performance exists in Braunvieh and Fleckvieh AI (artificial insemination) bulls. The influence of BoLA cl ass I (BoLA-A) alleles on deregressed breeding values for net growth r ate, carcass index and thigh volume was assessed in Braunvieh crosses and Fleckvieh bulls with a gene substitution model. The reproductive t raits: non-return rate and interval between first and last inseminatio n of daughters (female fertility), as well as non-return rate of insem inated cows (male fertility), were only investigated in Fleckvieh anim als. No influence of the BoLA-A region on the traits evaluated could b e demonstrated. An improper, i.e. less restrictive analysis would have led to spurious results.