Investigation of the Genetic Relationship between Cattle Breeds Using Known SNPs: The Case of the Zavot Cattle Breed

Abstract: Zavot cattle is one of Türkiye’s native cattle breeds raised in the provinces of Kars and Ardahan in the Northeast Anatolian region. The Zavot cattle breed has emerged as a crossbreed of Simmental, Brown Swiss, and Eastern Anatolian Red cattle breeds. However, there is not enough information about which of the breeds that contribute to the genetic formation of today’s Zavot cattle is closer genetically. In this study, Zavot, East Anatolian Red, Simmental and Brown Swiss cattle were genotyped in term of STAT5A-AvaI, GH-AluI, PRL-RsaI, TLR1-Bs1I and TLR4-BstUI polymorphisms. In the study, 70 cattle of each breed were genotyped. At the end of the genotyping process, it was determined that the Zavot breed was genetically closer to the Eastern Anatolian Red cattle breed. On the other hand, it has been concluded that SNP markers, which are known to be polymorphic, can be used in studies investigating the genetic relationships between breeds