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Selection for plasma copper concentrations within haemoglobin type in sheep

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

G. Wiener ,
Susan Hayter  and
A. C. Field
G. Wiener
Affiliation:
ARC Animal Breeding Research Organisation, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JQ
Susan Hayter
Affiliation:
ARC Animal Breeding Research Organisation, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JQ
A. C. Field
Affiliation:
Moredun Research Institute, 408 Gilmerton Road, Edinburgh EH 17 7JH
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Summary

From among 27 rams of haemoglobin type A the two rams with the highest plasma copper concentration and the two rams with the lowest were selected on the basis of a single determination. In the same way four rams were selected from among the 29 rams of haemoglobin type B. The average difference between the ‘high’ and the ‘low’ rams was 103 μg copper per 100 ml plasma. The rams were mated to 105 unselected females. Lambs born as a result of these matings were blood-sampled on eight occasions from 3 weeks to 29 weeks of age.

The plasma copper levels of the lambs sired by the ‘high’ copper rams were higher on average than those sired by ‘low’ copper rams. The two groups diverged from 12 weeks of age onward to a maximum difference, at 29 weeks, of 18 μg copper per 100 ml plasma. There was also an initial difference of 13 μg at 3 weeks but a much smaller one at 6 and 9 weeks.

There was no corresponding difference in plasma copper concentration between the offspring of haemoglobin A and haemoglobin B rams. The results are therefore consistent with the hypothesis that the association previously observed in the same flock between haemo-globin type and plasma copper level is unlikely to be due to an effect of the gene controlling haemoglobin type, but could be due effectively to a linked ‘copper gene’.

Correlations between maternal plasma copper concentration 3 weeks after parturition and lamb's plasma copper level showed a marked decline as the lambs grew older, starting from around 0·6 at 3 or 6 weeks old. This suggests a maternal ‘environmental’ influence on lamb's plasma copper in addition to any genetic effects.

Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Production , Volume 22 , Issue 3 , June 1976 , pp. 385 - 393
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1976

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References

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