Microsatellite panels suggested for parentage testing in cattle: Informativeness revealed in Finnish Ayrshire and Holstein-Friesian populations

Abstract

Informativeness of eleven microsatellite markers suggested for parentage control in cattle by the International Society for Animal Genetics (ISAG) was studied in Finnish Ayrshire and Holstein-Friesian populations. Calculations were based on a sample of 100 non-sib artificial insemination bulls. Assuming one known parent the nine loci suggested for routine testing exhibited exclusion probabilities of 99.84% in the Ayrshires and 99.91% in the Holstein-Friesians. The addition of markers INRA23 and TGLA53, recommended for further investigations, increased the attained values to 99.94% in Ayrshires and to 99.98% in Holstein-Friesians. The recommended core set of six microsatellites provided a combined exclusion probability of 98.25% in Ayrshires and 99.32% in Holstein-Friesians. Although the combined values were high in general, a relatively low level of polymorphism was detected in some instances.