Genomic Characterization of Native Norwegian Cattle breeds

The objective of this project is to  
• Quantify genetic diversity within the six native Norwegian cattle breeds  
• Detect signs of admixture between breeds  
• Quantify differences between the six Norwegian and north European native cattle breeds (in collaboration with the ReDiverse EU project)  
• Detect variation in milk protein variants in the native Norwegian breeds  
• Establish a reference for management of genetic diversity within and between breeds. 
 
Based on high density SNP genotypes and genome sequence information.

Traditional Nordic breeds share a common ancestry and breed histories. The Norwegian breeds have breed specific genetic resource worthwhile to protect. The majority of the traditional Norwegian breeds show breed admixture with other traditional as well as modern breeds, indicating the need for improved breed management. Results reveal that phenotypic characteristics such as coat color is not a good proxy for breed relatedness as Red breeds from different countries not necessarily shared the same ancestry, neither was country affiliation. We demonstrate that some Norwegian breeds, such as STN and ORF, were closer related to traditional Swedish breeds then other Norwegian breeds. The shared ancestry across country borders however provides the possibility for cross-country conservation programs, which would increase population sizes and hence facilitate improved management strategies.  
 
Genotyping of the traditional Norwegian breeds have provided important information to the history of Nordic cattle breeds. Data investigated here present the most detailed genomic dataset of Nordic cattle breeds including traditional breeds from all Scandinavian countries. Results established within this project can have huge implications for future conservation strategies of traditional Nordic cattle breeds and will be published in a scientific journal. Norwegian conservation breeds harbor numerous private alleles. These are distributed across about 25 % of proteins found by Lemay et al. to occur in milk. In total, 74 private, milk protein-altering variants were observed.  
 
Most significantly, three of the breeds harbored a casein-truncating variant not observed in the other Nordic breeds. To the extent that milk from these breeds is to be used for cheese production, one should consider ascertaining whether this variant has a detrimental effect on cheese yield or quality. If this should be the case, the variant should be monitored. Additionally, one might consider determining the effect (if any) of the casein alpha 1 variant detected in Vestlandsk Fjordfæ, again assuming that milk from this breed will be used for cheese production.