The local Vang cattle currently live primarily in the An Giang Seven Mountains, Vietnam. In some of the villages of the ethnic minority, cattle have phenotypes of Vietnam native Vang cattle, with very poor milk yield, carcass weight, and limited information about fertility. Consequently, cattle are at risk of becoming extinct, and the genetic diversity and polymorphism of genes linked to economically important traits have not yet been examined. This study centered on examining the genetic traits of Vang cattle by utilizing molecular markers. We investigated the nucleotide sequences of mitochondrial DNA and the SRY gene on the Y chromosome, as well as performed genotyping of the DGAT1, NCAPG, and RNF212 genes related to economically important traits such as milk yield, carcass weight, and fertility within the Vang cattle population. The analysis of the mitochondrial DNA sequences indicated that the Vang cattle carry the Bos indicus type I1 haplotype, which implies a significant level of genetic diversity within their maternal lineage. According to the SRY gene sequence study, all of the males have a zebu-type haplotype, which could have resulted from a hybrid between Bos javanicus and zebu. Based on the genotyping analysis of the functional genes, the DGAT1 gene exhibits polymorphism, whereas the NCAPG and RNF212 genes display monomorphism. This result may have important implications for improving milk yield of the Vang breed based on molecular markers of the DGAT1 gene. Therefore, the present study may provide useful information for future breeding and conservation efforts of this Vang breed.
Keywords | Vang cattle, Genetic diversity, mtDNA, Polymorphisms, SNPs, Y chromosome