A genome-wide association study for the incidence of persistent bovine viral diarrhea virus infection in cattle

Bovine viral diarrhea viruses (BVDV) comprise a diverse group of viruses that cause disease in cattle. BVDV may establish both transient and persistent infections depending on the developmental stage of the animal at exposure. The objective was to determine whether genomic regions harboring single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) could be associated with the presence or absence of persistent BVDV infection. A genome-wide association approach based on 777000 SNP markers was used. Samples of animals identified as positive (n=1200) or negative (n=1200) for the presence of BVDV in skin samples (n=1200) were used. DNA samples were combined in 24 pools (100 animals per pool). One SNP, significant at the 5 percent genome-wide level (P=9.41x10(-8)), was detected on chromosome 14, located at position 80675176bp. Fifteen SNPs, residing on chromosomes 1, 2, 6, 8, 10, 15 and 18, were moderately associated (P<1x10(-5)) with persistent BVDV infection. Results show that genes harboring or neighboring significant SNPs are involved in leucopenia, signal transduction, RNA splicing and DNA methylation processes.