Inheritance of the Robertsonian translocation (1/21) in the Holstein-Friesian cattle. I. Chromosome analysis.

A new type of Robertsonian translocation (1/21) was found in Holstein-Friesian breed, and transmitted through the three generations, namely from the bull to 6 out of 11 daughters and 4 out of 7 grand-daughters/sons. Although the father of the bull was not available for cytogenetical studies, it was ascertained that 5 half-sibs of the bull had a normal karyotype. By C-banded karyotypes, the 9 translocation carriers within the three generations had a dicentric centromere in the translocated chromosome. It seems that no morphological effects have been noted to be associated with the translocation in all cases.