Arachnomelia in four italian Brown calves

Brown cattle (Brown Swiss, Braunvieh, Italian Brown) have experienced the occurrence of undesirable genetic defects in recent decades. The weaver syndrome has been the most well-known problem. Lately, thanks to preventive genetic programs and the availability of genetic tests for detecting carriers, the disease prevalence in the population has been substantially reduced. Spinal muscular atrophy, spinal dysmyelination and congenital myopathy – other defects of young calves – have also been the object of intensive studies. Their genetic origin has been established, although not in a definitive manner. Arachnomelia (‘spider-legs’), a congenital abnormality of the skeletal system giving the animal a spidery look, has been reported as another undesirable and lethal genetic disease of the Brown race (Rieck and Schade 1975, Brem and others 1984, König and others 1987, Leipold and Steffen 1989). Although it has not been possible to find candidate genes so far, this disease is attributed to a simple recessive genetic defect, with an American Brown Swiss Bull or a cow of the same breed postulated as origin of the defect (König and others 1987). Here, we sum up the most important pathologic findings of four affected calves submitted to our attention in the context of a surveillance plan for genetic diseases in Brown cattle in Italy.