Evidence of single point mutation inducing BLAD disease in Romanian Holstein-derived cattle breed
Bovine leukocyte adhesion deficiency (BLAD) is a genetic disease that affects the haematopoietic system via greatly reduced expression of the heterodimeric ?2 integrin, causing many defects in leukocyte function. It is known that BLAD is an autosomal recessive defect, caused by a point mutation in the gene encoding subunit CD18 for ?2 integrin adhesion molecule, which is lethal in the homozygous form. In this study, 80 cattle of the Romanian Black Spotted breed have been screened via the DNA test. We performed the PCR-RFLP test followed by sequencing to investigate the incidence of this genetic disease. A single point mutation was identified within the gene encoding bovine CD18 in two Romanian Black Spotted cattle affected with BLAD. The aim of our work was to optimize PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction), RFLP (Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism) and sequencing analysis as a diagnostic test to identify BLAD carrier cattle.