Polled intersex syndrome (PIS)

Background
Keeping polled goats has obvious advantages for their management as well as for the animals themselves. However, amputations in vertebrates that are veterinarily not necessary, such as dehorning, are prohibited by law in some countries and may require a special case authorization in others.
In goats, polledness is inherited dominantly. This means that animals with one genomic copy of this trait do not develop horns. However, caution is advised when breeding for polledness, as purebred/homozygous polled doe goats are affected by the polled intersex syndrome (PIS): They are usually infertile, do not become pregnant hence, and consequently do not give milk. In addition, such doe goats cannot be distinguished phenotypically from young billy goats until their adolescence (hermaphrodites). Even more, the PIS mutation can reduce fertility in homozygous genetic males too.

Our service
Both the genetic sex and as well as the polledness genotype will be determined (Simon R, Lischer HEL, Pieńkowska-Schelling A et al. Anim Genet. 2020 Jun;51(3):439-448). The gene locus for polledness exists in two variants: P (dominant for polledness) and p (recessive for horned). The dominance of the polledness variant is the prerequisite for the convenient circumstance that one copy (genotype either P/p or P/P) is sufficient for that no horns are grown. Goats with horns are homozygous for the recessive variant (genotype p/p). We accept EDTA blood samples, mucosal swabs taken from mouth or nose, ear punches, semen samples or well-developed hair roots as sample types.