Mining of lethal recessive genetic variation in Danish cattle

The primary objective of this project is to identify recessive lethal genetic variants in the main Danish dairy cattle breed, Holstein-Friesian. Genetically diverse animals from the Danish Holstein breed were sequenced using state-of-the-art next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies. Identification of lethal genetic variants will aid the cattle breeders to avoid use of breeding animals carrying these detrimental variants and results in increased effectiveness of the cattle breeding programs.