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Prof. Dr. Gudrun Brockmann

Portrait of Gudrun Brockmann

Breeding Biology and Molecular Genetics Group

The regulation of energy expenditure in mammals affects all bodily functions, including metabolic health, reproduction and immune status, and is essential for the efficient utilization of food resources, pollution reduction and animal welfare. Its complex nature is determined by genetics, changes throughout life and is influenced by environmental factors.

The Breeding Biology and Molecular Genetics Group's research covers three areas:

  1. Investigating genetic variability and identifying gene variants that contribute to differences in energy utilization using structured pedigrees and breeding populations (variables: animal production and welfare traits, body mass and composition, feed efficiency, glucose and lipid consumption, gene expression).
  2. Investigating causality between sequence variation and phenotypic variation in genetic models.
  3. Investigating genome structure in selected populations.

To understand the causal molecular changes and overall system regulation of energy homeostasis, they study their own mouse models as well as existing dairy cattle and chicken populations. The Brockmann Group uses a variety of phenotypes, genotypes, and statistical methods to identify genes and sequence variants that underlie variation in traits. 

  • SNP array
  • Whole genome sequencing (including long-range sequencing) 
  • Genome-wide association studies
  • Diversity and inbreeding analyses
  • Analysis of evolutionary changes

Current position

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Positions held 

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Academic Education

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Honors/Awards/Fellowships

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DFG-funded projects

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Selected activities

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Selected publications

  • Pogorevc N, Dotsev A, Upadhyay M, Sandoval-Castellanos E, Hannemann E, Simčič M, Antoniou A, Papachristou D, Koutsouli P, Rahmatalla S, Brockmann GA, Sölkner J, Burger P, Lymberakis P, Poulakakis N, Bizelis I, Zinovieva N, Horvat S, Medugorac I. Whole-genome SNP genotyping unveils ancestral and recent introgression in wild and domestic goats. Mol Ecol. 2023 Nov 1. doi: 10.1111/mec.17190.
  • Neumann GB, Korkuć P, Reißmann M, Wolf MJ, May K, König S, Brockmann GA. Unmapped short reads from whole-genome sequencing indicate potential infectious pathogens in german black Pied cattle. Vet Res. 2023 Oct 18;54(1):95. doi: 10.1186/s13567-023-01227-0.
  • Salvador AC, Huda MN, Arends D, Elsaadi AM, Gacasan CA, Brockmann GA, Valdar W, Bennett BJ, Threadgill DW. Analysis of strain, sex, and diet-dependent modulation of gut microbiota reveals candidate keystone organisms driving microbial diversity in response to American and ketogenic diets. Microbiome. 2023 Oct 3;11(1):220. doi: 10.1186/s40168-023-01588-w.
  • Wolf MJ, Neumann GB, Kokuć P, Yin T, Brockmann GA, König S, May K. Genetic evaluations for endangered dual-purpose German Black Pied cattle using 50K SNPs, a breed-specific 200K chip, and whole-genome sequencing. J Dairy Sci. 2023 May;106(5):3345-3358. doi: 10.3168/jds.2022-22665.
  • Neumann GB, Korkuć P, Arends D, Wolf MJ, May K, König S, Brockmann GA. Genomic diversity and relationship analyses of endangered German Black Pied cattle (DSN) to 68 other taurine breeds based on whole-genome sequencing. Front Genet. 2023 Jan 4;13:993959. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2022.993959.
  • Arends D, Kärst S, Heise S, Korkuc P, Hesse D, Brockmann GA. Transmission distortion and genetic incompatibilities between alleles in a multigenerational mouse advanced intercross line. Genetics. 2022 Jan 4;220(1):iyab192. doi: 10.1093/genetics/iyab192.
  • Delpero M, Arends D, Freiberg A, Brockmann GA, Hesse D. QTL-mapping in the obese Berlin Fat Mouse identifies additional candidate genes for obesity and fatty liver disease. Sci Rep. 2022 Jun 21;12(1):10471. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-14316-5.
  • Mohebian K, Hesse D, Arends D, Brockmann GA. A 5' UTR Mutation Contributes to Down-Regulation of Bbs7 in the Berlin Fat Mouse. Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Oct 27;23(21):13018. doi: 10.3390/ijms232113018.
  • Korkuć P, Arends D, May K, König S, Brockmann GA. Genomic Loci Affecting Milk Production in German Black Pied Cattle (DSN). Front Genet. 2021 Mar 8;12:640039. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2021.640039.
  • Krause F, Mohebian K, Delpero M, Hesse D, Kühn R, Arends D, Brockmann GA. A deletion containing a CTCF-element in intron 8 of the Bbs7 gene is partially responsible for juvenile obesity in the Berlin Fat Mouse. Mamm Genome. 2022 Sep;33(3):465-470. doi: 10.1007/s00335-021-09938-5.