ARS | Publication request: Meta-Analysis of High-Density SNP Associations for Beef Cattle Production Traits from Three Countries

Submitted to: Proceedings of the Alberta Ingenuity Centre for Livestock Genomics Technology
Publication Type: Other
Publication Acceptance Date: May 12, 2010
Publication Date: N/A

Technical Abstract: About 50,000 SNP were evaluated for associations with growth, carcass, and meat quality traits in three populations of cattle in the United States, Canada, and Australia. Regression coefficients for each SNP were independently estimated within each country. Coefficients for similar traits were standardized and pooled accounting for their standard errors. The proportion of SNP associations from the meta-analyses with nominal P-values < 0.01, < 0.001, and < 0.0001 were compared with the proportions averaged from the three countries. For the 14 feed intake, carcass, and meat tenderness traits, average proportions were 0.0134, 0.00176, and 0.00029 compared with meta-analysis proportions of 0.0158, 0.00249, and 0.00053. The meta-analysis proportions exceeded the average proportions for every trait and in many cases exceeded the highest individual country proportion. These results demonstrate that combining sets of results can increase power to identify SNP with significant associations.