Impact of apolipoprotein B-associated cholesterol deficiency genotype on milk composition, somatic cell count, and parity effects in Lithuanian Holstein cows

Vet World Vol.18 June-2025 Article - 17

Research Article

Veterinary World, 18(6): 1581-1589

https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2025.1581-1589

Ramutė Mišeikienė^1,2, Nijolė Pečiulaitienė¹, Lina Kajokienė¹, Renata Bižienė¹, Kristina Morkūnienė¹, Vilius Marma¹, Saulius Tušas², Paulius Matusevičius³, Ewa Wójcik⁴, Alina Janocha⁴, Anna Milczarek⁴, and Laimutis Kučinskas¹

1. Institute of Biology Systems and Genetic Research, Faculty of Animal Sciences, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania.

2. Institute of Animal Rearing Technologies, Faculty of Animal Sciences, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania.

3. Department of Animal Nutrition, Faculty of Animal Sciences, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania.

4. Institute of Animal Science and Fisheries, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Siedlce, Siedlce, Poland.

Background and Aim: Cholesterol deficiency (CD) in Holstein cattle, caused by a loss-of-function mutation in the apolipoprotein B (APOB) gene, is a heritable autosomal recessive condition with known implications for fat metabolism and cholesterol transport. This study aimed to investigate the effect of the CD genotype on milk yield components, cholesterol concentration, and somatic cell count (SCC) in Lithuanian Holstein cows, and to determine whether lactation number modulates these relationships.

Materials and Methods: A total of 188 cows were classified by lactation: 1st (n = 44), 2nd (n = 50), 3rd and 4th (n = 60), and ≥5th (n = 34). Genotyping for the APOB mutation was conducted using allele-specific polymerase chain reaction. Milk fat, protein, lactose, and SCC were determined using LactoScope Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and Somascope methods, while cholesterol concentration was measured by high-performance liquid chromatography. Statistical analysis involved the Kruskal–Wallis H test due to non-normal data distribution.

Results: The heterozygous CD genotype was identified in 17.02% of the population, with wild-type and mutant allele frequencies of 0.91 and 0.09, respectively. Non-carriers showed marginally higher fat, protein, and cholesterol levels, with a statistically significant difference in fat content (p = 0.04). When stratified by lactation, significant differences were observed for fat content in the 1st lactation group (p = 0.026), SCC in the 2nd (p = 0.038), and protein content in the 3rd (p = 0.030). No significant variation in milk cholesterol concentration was detected across genotype groups in any lactation group.

Conclusion: This study confirms the presence of the CD-associated APOB allele in the Lithuanian Holstein population. While CD status significantly influenced milk fat percentage, its effect on other milk composition traits and SCC was limited. Parity exhibited specific but non-consistent modulating effects. Further large-scale, longitudinal studies are warranted to elucidate the physiological underpinnings of these findings.

Keywords: apolipoprotein B gene, cholesterol deficiency, genotype, Holstein cows, milk composition, parity, somatic cell count.

How to cite this article: Mišeikienė R, Pečiulaitienė N, Kajokienė L, Bižienė R, Morkūnienė K, Marma V, Tušas S, Matusevičius P, Wójcik E, Janocha A, Milczarek A, and Kučinskas L (2025) Impact of apolipoprotein B-associated cholesterol deficiency genotype on milk composition, somatic cell count, and parity effects in Lithuanian Holstein cows, Veterinary World, 18(6): 1581-1589.

Received: 04-02-2025 Accepted: 23-05-2025 Published online: 16-06-2025

Corresponding author: Ramutė Mišeikienė E-mail: ramute.miseikiene@lsmu.lt

DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2025.1581-1589

Copyright: Mišeikienė, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.