Patent ID: 7662567

Claim:
A method for identifying a bovine animal as having a reduced subcutaneous fat depth (SFD) phenotype as compared to the general population of bovine animals, said method comprising: (a) obtaining a biological sample from a bovine animal, said sample comprising nucleic acids from said bovine animal; (b) detecting in said nucleic acids the nucleotide content at the g.8208C>T polymorphic position in the urocortin 3 (UNC3) gene, wherein the g.8208C>T polymorphic position is either a C or a T at position 8208 of SEQ ID NO: 8; and (c) correlating the nucleotide content at the g.8208C>T polymorphic position in the urocortin 3 (UCN3) gene with the SFD phenotype of the bovine animal, wherein the presence of a C at position 8208 of SEQ ID NO: 8 is indicative of a greater SFD phenotype as compared to the general population of bovine animals.