In response to a few questions lately on what the initials of Poll and Coat results, please see the explanations below:
HH – Horned
HPc – Heterozygous Poll
PcPc – Homozygous Poll
HPf – Heterozygous Poll
PcPf – Homozygous Poll
PfPf – Homozygous Poll
Coat Colour
ED/ED = Homozygous Black
ED/E = Heterozygous Black
ED/E+ = Black
E+/E+ = Black
ED/e = Heterozygous Black
E+/e = Red
e/e = Homozygous Red
Tip sheet with breeding tables
Polled v Horned https://vgl.ucdavis.edu/test/polled-vs-horned
Phenotype: Naturally polled cattle have been selectively bred to lack horns.
Mode of Inheritance: Autosomal dominant
Alleles: H = Horned, Pf = Polled (Friesian molecular marker), Pc = Polled (Celtic molecular marker)
Breeds appropriate for testing: European cattle breeds (Holstein-Friesian, Jersey, Angus, Blonde d’Aquitaine, Dexter, Limousin, Charolais, Hereford, etc.), Brahman cattle
Explanation of Results:
- Cattle with H/H genotype will be horned and cannot transmit either of these polled variants to their offspring.
- Cattle with Pf/H or Pc/H genotype will be polled and are heterozygous for the trait. They will transmit their polled variant to 50% of their offspring, and those calves will also be polled.
- Cattle with Pf/Pf or Pc/Pc are homozygous and will be polled. Cattle with the Pc/Pf genotype are considered compound heterozygotes. Cattle with Pf/Pf, Pc/Pc, or Pc/Pf will transmit a polled variant to all of their offspring, and all calves they produce will be polled regardless of the mate’s genotype.
- There are 2 independent origins of polled, one found in Holstein-Friesian and Jersey breeds (Pf), the other in many European breeds of Celtic origin (Pc) such as Angus, Blonde d’Aquitaine, Dexter, Limousin, Charolais, and Hereford, among others. Investigation of the polled mutation in Brahman cattle revealed the segregation of the Celtic polled variant (Pc) in the breed. Polledness is dominant; a polled animal can have one or two copies of the polled alleles. All offspring of a homozygous polled bull (2 of the same polled allele, Pc/Pc or Pf/Pf) will be polled. Additionally, offspring with one copy of each of the polled alleles (Pc/Pf, compound heterozygous) will also be polled. Genetic testing is a cost-effective means to determine if a polled animal has 1 or 2 copies of the polled alleles.