Population Genomics of the Bovine Sialic Acid Network Reveals Functional and Evolutionary Diversity Across European and South African Cattle Breeds

NEU3 Y136H shows the largest regional allele-frequency contrast between South African and European cattle (0.83 vs 0.34), within a network-wide map of bovine sialic acid pathway variants.

• Why it matters: Genetic variation across the bovine sialic acid network is poorly characterized, despite rapid, animal-specific changes in sialylated milk glycans during early lactation and roles in immune and neuronal function.
• What they did: Whole-genome sequence data from 346 animals across 12 European and 4 South African breeds were used to analyze 9,724 variants in 13 pathway genes, prioritizing 15 candidates via SIFT, Rate4Site conservation, protein context, and population representation.
• The result: Genome-wide PCA separated South African from European cattle along the first component (~25% variance), while common pathway SNPs did not exceed genome-wide differentiation thresholds; the 15 candidates, mostly rare, enable targeted genotyping, enzyme-level testing, and genotype-informed milk phenotyping.

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