Ashwell, M.S., USDA-ARS, Bovine Functional Genomics Laboratory, Beltsville, MD 20705, United States, Institute of Animal Sciences, ARO, Volcani Center, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel
Heyen, D.W., Department of Animal Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, United States
Sonstegard, T.S., USDA-ARS, Bovine Functional Genomics Laboratory, Beltsville, MD 20705, United States
Van Tassell, C.P., USDA-ARS, Bovine Functional Genomics Laboratory, Beltsville, MD 20705, United States
Da, Y., Department of Animal Science, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, United States
VanRaden, P.M., USDA-ARS, Animal Improvement Programs Laboratory, Beltsville, MD 20705, United States
Ron, M., Institute of Animal Sciences, ARO, Volcani Center, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel
Weller, J.I., Institute of Animal Sciences, ARO, Volcani Center, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel
Lewin, H.A., Department of Animal Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, United States

We report putative quantitative trait loci affecting female fertility and milk production traits using the merged data from two research groups that conducted independent genome scans in Dairy Bull DNA Repository grandsire families to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) affecting economically important traits. Six families used by both groups had been genotyped for 367 microsatellite markers covering 2713.5 cM of the cattle genome (90%), with an average spacing of 7.4 cM. Phenotypic traits included PTA for pregnancy rate and daughter deviations for milk, protein and fat yields, protein and fat percentages, somatic cell score, and productive life. Analysis of the merged dataset identified putative quantitative trait loci that were not detected in the separate studies, and the pregnancy rate PTA estimates that recently became available allowed detection of pregnancy rate QTL for the first time. Sixty-one putative significant marker effects were identified within families, and 13 were identified across families. Highly significant effects were found on chromosome 3 affecting fat percentage and protein yield, on chromosome 6 affecting protein and fat percentages, on chromosome 14 affecting fat percentage, on chromosome 18 affecting pregnancy rate, and on chromosome 20 affecting protein percentage. Within-family analysis detected putative QTL associated with pregnancy rate on six chromosomes, with the effect on chromosome 18 being the most significant statistically. These findings may help identify the most useful markers available for QTL detection and, eventually, for marker-assisted selection for improvement of these economically important traits. © American Dairy Science Association, 2004.