Hereditary zinc deficiency syndrome in a calf

Bovine Hereditary Zinc Deficiency (BHZD) is an autosomal recessive disorder. A twin calf with signs consistent with BHZD. The coat was dull. Due to the typical skin lesions veterinary treatment with zinc was started. During treatment the skin lesions did not get worse but a recovery was not gained either. The lesions got bigger when the treatment was interrupted. The co-twin calf did not show any signs of BHZD. After amplifying a product of 294 base pair (bp) including the putatively causal SLC39A4 mutation the product was incubated with the restriction enzyme HpHI. A 148- and 147-bp product could be detected which was expected for the wildtype sequence. A 337-bp product including the putative PLD4 causal mutation was amplified. The G to A mutation (rs378824791) leads to the loss of the restriction site of the enzyme HpyCH4III. The putative causal mutation was not proven using this restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). Further sequence analyses are needed to clarify the mutation causing BHZD in the present case. The present case also shows that there might be further mutations in Fleckvieh cattle responsible for BHZD.