Echavarría Valencia, Diana CarolinaEcheverri Zuluaga, José Julián2013-04-162013-04-1620121794-4449http://hdl.handle.net/10567/896Introduction. The selection assisted by molecular markers allows the modification of the genes´ frequency within a population, favoring the variables responsible for zoo technical interest characters. The gene of the growth hormone is important for the characteristics related to the animal´s development and can be associated to the linear characteristics of the bovine cattle. Objective. To determine the effect of a polymorphism of the bovine´s growth hormone´s gene on conformation characteristics in Holstein cows from the Antioquia province. Materials and methods. The research work was performed in eight dairy herds from Antioquia, with 359 records, with 313 Holstein bovines. The DNA extraction was performed with the salting out method and the genotyping was made by means of PCR-RFLP. To evaluate the association between the polymorphism and the linear characteristics, a general linear model was adjusted and the Kruskal Wallis test was used. Finally, a linear regression was performed in order to evaluate the allelic substitution effect by the use of the SAS V.9.0 statistical software. Results. The polymorphism of the growth hormone´s gene had a significant effect (P<0.05) on the location of the teat, central ligament of the udder and the width and the depth of the udder. No effect was found (P>0.05) for the other characteristics analyzed. Conclusion. The polymorphism of the growth hormone´s gene is associated to some characteristics that are important in dairy production, and therefore it is a gene that can be a candidate to be used in programs of assisted selection with molecular markers oriented to improve the linear characteristics.esCorporación Universitaria LasallistaSomatotropina (BGH)Genética de ganado vacunoGenética animalGenéticaGanado - Mejoramiento de la especiePolimorfismo genéticoArticle