Shordley Hall

Project aim:

The main purpose of the project is to investigate the effects and frequency of the various fertility haplotypes  (HH1, HH2, HH3, HH4, HH5) that have been discovered within the DNA of the black and white breed. The project will also investigate the influence of the Haplotype Cholesterol Deficiency (HCD)gene on calf mortality. New genetic screening technology and its commercialisation has uncovered some industry significant recessive disorders that were previously unknown within the Black and White breed. The term “haplotype” refers to a group of single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers that are located at nearby positions on the chromosome and are usually inherited together. Haplotypes are passed on from both parents and whether they cause harm or good depend on how these haplotypes are arranged in the offspring. As it is now possible to identify thousands of haplotypes on each chromosome; each has a positive, neutral or negative association with production, conformation, health and fertility. It is important to identify and understand which haplotypes cause a negative effect in order to breed around them to ensure that these effects are not passed on.