Contact details +64 (06) 356 9099

Prof Matt Littlejohn

Professor in Animal Genetics

School of Agriculture and Environment

Research Outputs

Journal

Ghoreishifar, M., Chamberlain, AJ., Xiang, R., Prowse-Wilkins, CP., Lopdell, TJ., Littlejohn, MD., . . . Goddard, ME. (2024). Allele-specific binding variants causing ChIP-seq peak height of histone modification are not enriched in expression QTL annotations. Genetics Selection Evolution. 56(1)
[Journal article]Authored by: Littlejohn, M., Lopdell, T.
Lopdell, TJ., Trevarton, AJ., Moody, J., Prowse-Wilkins, C., Knowles, S., Tiplady, K., . . . Littlejohn, MD. (2024). A common regulatory haplotype doubles lactoferrin concentration in milk. Genetics Selection Evolution. 56(1)
[Journal article]Authored by: Littlejohn, M., Lopdell, T.
Sneddon, NW., Handcock, RC., Corner-Thomas, RA., Kenyon, PR., Burnham, DL., Garrick, DJ., . . . Morris, ST. (2024). Wool shedding and lamb fleece weights: first-cross and backcross Wiltshire–Romney sheep scored at lamb, hogget and two-tooth ages. New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research. 67(3), 394-401
[Journal article]Authored by: Blair, H., Burnham, D., Corner-Thomas, R., Kenyon, P., Littlejohn, M., Morris, S., Sneddon, N.
Yuan, C., Tang, L., Lopdell, T., Petrov, VA., Oget-Ebrad, C., Moreira, GCM., . . . Palma-Vera, S. (2023). An organism-wide ATAC-seq peak catalog for the bovine and its use to identify regulatory variants. Genome Research. 33(10), 1848-1864
[Journal article]Authored by: Littlejohn, M., Lopdell, T.
Littlejohn, MD., Sneddon, N., Dittmer, K., Keehan, M., Stephen, M., Drögemüller, M., . . . Garrick, D. (2023). A frameshift-deletion mutation in Reelin causes cerebellar hypoplasia in White Swiss Shepherd dogs. Animal Genetics. 54(5), 632-636
[Journal article]Authored by: Dittmer, K., Littlejohn, M., Sneddon, N.
Moody, J., Mears, E., Trevarton, AJ., Broadhurst, M., Molenaar, A., Chometon, T., . . . Snell, R. (2023). Successful editing and maintenance of lactogenic gene expression in primary bovine mammary epithelial cells. In Vitro Cellular and Developmental Biology - Animal. 59(5), 316-330
[Journal article]Authored by: Littlejohn, M., Lopdell, T.
Trevarton, AJ., Mears, ER., Moody, J., Lopdell, TJ., Chometon, TQ., Taylor, JA., . . . Snell, RG. (2023). Development of SpCas9-expressing bovine mammary epithelial cell lines. In Vitro Cellular and Developmental Biology - Animal. 59(3), 163-165
[Journal article]Authored by: Littlejohn, M., Lopdell, T.
Prowse-Wilkins, CP., Lopdell, TJ., Xiang, R., Vander Jagt, CJ., Littlejohn, MD., Chamberlain, AJ., . . . Goddard, ME. (2022). Genetic variation in histone modifications and gene expression identifies regulatory variants in the mammary gland of cattle. BMC Genomics. 23(1)
[Journal article]Authored by: Littlejohn, M., Lopdell, T.
Tiplady, KM., Lopdell, TJ., Sherlock, RG., Johnson, TJJ., Spelman, RJ., Harris, BL., . . . Garrick, DJ. (2022). Comparison of the genetic characteristics of directly measured and Fourier-transform mid-infrared-predicted bovine milk fatty acids and proteins. Journal of Dairy Science. 105(12), 9763-9791
[Journal article]Authored by: Littlejohn, M., Lopdell, T.
Davis, SR., Ward, HE., Kelly, V., Palmer, D., Ankersmit-Udy, AE., Lopdell, TJ., . . . Lehnert, K. (2022). Screening for phenotypic outliers identifies an unusually low concentration of a β-lactoglobulin B protein isoform in bovine milk caused by a synonymous SNP. Genetics Selection Evolution. 54(1)
[Journal article]Authored by: Littlejohn, M., Lopdell, T.
Dittmer, KE., Neeley, C., Perrott, MR., Reynolds, E., Garrick, DJ., & Littlejohn, MD. (2022). Pathology of the peripheral neuropathy Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 4H in Holstein Friesian cattle with a splice site mutation in FGD4. Veterinary Pathology. 59(3), 442-450
[Journal article]Authored by: Dittmer, K., Littlejohn, M., Perrott, M.
Jiang, A., Ankersmit-Udy, A., Turner, SA., Scholtens, M., Littlejohn, MD., Lopez-Villalobos, N., . . . Lehnert, K. (2022). A Capra hircus chromosome 19 locus linked to milk production influences mammary conformation. Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology. 13(1)
[Journal article]Authored by: Littlejohn, M., Lopez-Villalobos, N.
Reynolds, EGM., Lopdell, T., Wang, Y., Tiplady, KM., Harland, CS., Johnson, TJJ., . . . Littlejohn, MD. (2022). Non-additive QTL mapping of lactation traits in 124,000 cattle reveals novel recessive loci. Genetics Selection Evolution. 54(1)
[Journal article]Authored by: Littlejohn, M., Lopdell, T.
Laible, G., Cole, SA., Brophy, B., Wei, J., Leath, S., Jivanji, S., . . . Wells, DN. (2021). Holstein Friesian dairy cattle edited for diluted coat color as a potential adaptation to climate change. BMC Genomics. 22(1)
[Journal article]Authored by: Littlejohn, M.
Tiplady, KM., Lopdell, TJ., Reynolds, E., Sherlock, RG., Keehan, M., Johnson, TJ., . . . Littlejohn, MD. (2021). Sequence-based genome-wide association study of individual milk mid-infrared wavenumbers in mixed-breed dairy cattle. Genetics Selection Evolution. 53(1)
[Journal article]Authored by: Littlejohn, M., Lopdell, T.
Jivanji, S., Harland, C., Cole, S., Brophy, B., Garrick, D., Snell, R., . . . Laible, G. (2021). The genomes of precision edited cloned calves show no evidence for off-target events or increased de novo mutagenesis. BMC Genomics. 22(1)
[Journal article]Authored by: Littlejohn, M.
Reynolds, EGM., Neeley, C., Lopdell, TJ., Keehan, M., Dittmer, K., Harland, CS., . . . Littlejohn, MD. (2021). Non-additive association analysis using proxy phenotypes identifies novel cattle syndromes. Nature Genetics. 53(7), 949-954
[Journal article]Authored by: Dittmer, K., Littlejohn, M., Lopdell, T.
Fink, T., Lopdell, T., Tiplady, K., Handley, R., Johnson, TJJ., Spelman, R., . . . Littlejohn, M. (2020). A new mechanism for a familiar mutation – bovine<i>DGAT1</i>K232A modulates gene expression through multi-junction exon splice enhancement.
[Journal article]Authored by: Littlejohn, M.
Laible, G., Cole, S-A., Brophy, B., Wei, J., Leath, S., Jivanji, S., . . . Wells, DN. (2020). Holstein Friesian dairy cattle edited for diluted coat color as adaptation to climate change.
[Journal article]Authored by: Littlejohn, M.
Fink, T., Lopdell, TJ., Tiplady, K., Handley, R., Johnson, TJJ., Spelman, RJ., . . . Littlejohn, MD. (2020). A new mechanism for a familiar mutation - bovine DGAT1 K232A modulates gene expression through multi-junction exon splice enhancement. BMC Genomics. 21(1)
[Journal article]Authored by: Littlejohn, M., Lopdell, T.
Scholtens, M., Jiang, A., Smith, A., Littlejohn, M., Lehnert, K., Snell, R., . . . Blair, H. (2020). Genome-wide association studies of lactation yields of milk, fat, protein and somatic cell score in New Zealand dairy goats. Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology. 11(1)
[Journal article]Authored by: Blair, H., Littlejohn, M., Lopez-Villalobos, N.
Tiplady, KM., Lopdell, TJ., Littlejohn, MD., & Garrick, DJ. (2020). The evolving role of Fourier-transform mid-infrared spectroscopy in genetic improvement of dairy cattle. Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology. 11(1)
[Journal article]Authored by: Littlejohn, M., Lopdell, T.
Lopdell, TJ., Tiplady, K., Couldrey, C., Johnson, TJJ., Keehan, M., Davis, SR., . . . Littlejohn, MD. (2019). Multiple QTL underlie milk phenotypes at the CSF2RB locus. Genetics Selection Evolution. 51(1)
[Journal article]Authored by: Littlejohn, M., Lopdell, T.
Lopdell, TJ., Hawkins, V., Couldrey, C., Tiplady, K., Davis, SR., Harris, BL., . . . Littlejohn, MD. (2019). Widespread cis-regulation of RNA editing in a large mammal. RNA. 25(3), 319-335
[Journal article]Authored by: Littlejohn, M., Lopdell, T.
Jivanji, S., Worth, G., Lopdell, TJ., Yeates, A., Couldrey, C., Reynolds, E., . . . Littlejohn, MD. (2019). Genome-wide association analysis reveals QTL and candidate mutations involved in white spotting in cattle. Genetics Selection Evolution. 51(1)
[Journal article]Authored by: Littlejohn, M., Lopdell, T.
Tiplady, KM., Sherlock, RG., Littlejohn, MD., Pryce, JE., Davis, SR., Garrick, DJ., . . . Harris, BL. (2019). Strategies for noise reduction and standardization of milk mid-infrared spectra from dairy cattle. Journal of Dairy Science. 102(7), 6357-6372
[Journal article]Authored by: Littlejohn, M.
Lopdell, T., Couldrey, C., Tiplady, K., Davis, S., Snell, R., Harris, B., . . . Littlejohn, M. (2018). Widespread <i>cis</i>-regulation of RNA-editing in a large mammal.
[Journal article]Authored by: Littlejohn, M.
Lopdell, T., Tiplady, K., Couldrey, C., Johnson, TJJ., Keehan, M., Davis, S., . . . Littlejohn, M. (2018). Multiple QTL underlie milk phenotypes at the CSF2RB locus.
[Journal article]Authored by: Littlejohn, M.
Littlejohn, MD., Turner, SA., Walker, CG., Berry, SD., Tiplady, K., Sherlock, RG., . . . Hillerton, JE. (2018). Identification of an immune modulation locus utilising a bovine mammary gland infection challenge model. Journal of Dairy Research. 85(2), 185-192
[Journal article]Authored by: Littlejohn, M.
Couldrey, C., Keehan, M., Johnson, T., Tiplady, K., Winkelman, A., Littlejohn, MD., . . . Spelman, RJ. (2017). Detection and assessment of copy number variation using PacBio long-read and Illumina sequencing in New Zealand dairy cattle. Journal of Dairy Science. 100(7), 5472-5478
[Journal article]Authored by: Littlejohn, M.
Couldrey, C., Johnson, T., Lopdell, T., Zhang, IL., Littlejohn, MD., Keehan, M., . . . Spelman, RJ. (2017). Bovine mammary gland X chromosome inactivation. Journal of Dairy Science. 100(7), 5491-5500
[Journal article]Authored by: Littlejohn, M., Lopdell, T.
Davis, SR., Spelman, RJ., & Littlejohn, MD. (2017). Breeding and genetics symposium: Breeding heat tolerant dairy cattle: The case for introgression of the “slick” prolactin receptor variant into bos Tdairy breeds. Journal of Animal Science. 95(4), 1788-1800
[Journal article]Authored by: Littlejohn, M.
Lopdell, TJ., Tiplady, K., Struchalin, M., Johnson, TJJ., Keehan, M., Sherlock, R., . . . Littlejohn, MD. (2017). DNA and RNA-sequence based GWAS highlights membrane-transport genes as key modulators of milk lactose content. BMC Genomics. 18(1)
[Journal article]Authored by: Littlejohn, M., Lopdell, T.
Fink, T., Tiplady, K., Lopdell, T., Johnson, T., Snell, RG., Spelman, RJ., . . . Littlejohn, MD. (2017). Functional confirmation of PLAG1 as the candidate causative gene underlying major pleiotropic effects on body weight and milk characteristics. Scientific Reports. 7
[Journal article]Authored by: Littlejohn, M., Lopdell, T.
Littlejohn, MD., Tiplady, K., Fink, TA., Lehnert, K., Lopdell, T., Johnson, T., . . . Spelman, RJ. (2016). Sequence-based Association Analysis Reveals an MGST1 eQTL with Pleiotropic Effects on Bovine Milk Composition. Scientific Reports. 6
[Journal article]Authored by: Littlejohn, M., Lopdell, T.
Kemper, KE., Littlejohn, MD., Lopdell, T., Hayes, BJ., Bennett, LE., Williams, RP., . . . Goddard, ME. (2016). Leveraging genetically simple traits to identify small-effect variants for complex phenotypes. BMC Genomics. 17(1)
[Journal article]Authored by: Littlejohn, M., Lopdell, T.
Charlier, C., Li, W., Harland, C., Littlejohn, M., Coppieters, W., Creagh, F., . . . Georges, M. (2016). NGS-based reverse genetic screen for common embryonic lethal mutations compromising fertility in livestock. Genome Research. 26(10), 1333-1341
[Journal article]Authored by: Littlejohn, M.
Grala, TM., Phyn, CVC., Kay, JK., Rius, AG., Lucy, MC., Littlejohn, MD., . . . Roche, JR. (2014). Gene expression in liver and adipose tissue is altered during and after temporary changes to postpartum milking frequency. Journal of Dairy Science. 97(5), 2701-2717
[Journal article]Authored by: Littlejohn, M.
Littlejohn, MD., Tiplady, K., Lopdell, T., Law, TA., Scott, A., Harland, C., . . . Snell, RG. (2014). Expression variants of the lipogenic AGPAT6 gene affect diverse milk composition phenotypes in Bos taurus. PLoS ONE. 9(1)
[Journal article]Authored by: Littlejohn, M., Lopdell, T.
Grala, TM., Roche, JR., Kay, JK., Rius, AG., White, HM., Donkin, SS., . . . Phyn, CVC. (2014). The expression of genes involved in hepatic metabolism is altered by temporary changes to milking frequency. Journal of Dairy Science. 97(2), 838-850
[Journal article]Authored by: Littlejohn, M.
Littlejohn, MD., Henty, KM., Tiplady, K., Johnson, T., Harland, C., Lopdell, T., . . . Davis, SR. (2014). Functionally reciprocal mutations of the prolactin signalling pathway define hairy and slick cattle. Nature Communications. 5
[Journal article]Authored by: Littlejohn, M., Lopdell, T.
Walker, CG., Littlejohn, MD., Meier, S., Roche, JR., & Mitchell, MD. (2013). DNA methylation is correlated with gene expression during early pregnancy in Bos taurus. Physiological Genomics. 45(7), 276-286
[Journal article]Authored by: Littlejohn, M.
Littlejohn, M., Grala, T., Sanders, K., Walker, C., Waghorn, G., MacDonald, K., . . . Snell, R. (2012). Genetic variation in PLAG1 associates with early life body weight and peripubertal weight and growth in Bos taurus. Animal Genetics. 43(5), 591-594
[Journal article]Authored by: Littlejohn, M.
Littlejohn, M., Grala, T., Sanders, K., Walker, C., Waghorn, G., MacDonald, K., . . . Snell, R. (2012). Non-replication of genome-wide-based associations of efficient food conversion in dairy cows. Animal Genetics. 43(6), 781-784
[Journal article]Authored by: Littlejohn, M.
Walker, CG., Littlejohn, MD., Mitchell, MD., Roche, JR., & Meier, S. (2012). Endometrial gene expression during early pregnancy differs between fertile and subfertile dairy cow strains. Physiological Genomics. 44(1), 47-58
[Journal article]Authored by: Littlejohn, M.
Karim, L., Takeda, H., Lin, L., Druet, T., Arias, JAC., Baurain, D., . . . Coppieters, W. (2011). Variants modulating the expression of a chromosome domain encompassing PLAG1 influence bovine stature. Nature Genetics. 43(5), 405-415
[Journal article]Authored by: Littlejohn, M.
Meier, S., Walker, CG., Mitchell, MD., Littlejohn, MD., & Roche, JR. (2011). Modification of endometrial fatty acid concentrations by the pre-implantation conceptus in pasture-fed dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Research. 78(3), 263-269
[Journal article]Authored by: Littlejohn, M.
Walker, CG., Meier, S., Littlejohn, MD., Lehnert, K., Roche, JR., & Mitchell, MD. (2010). Modulation of the maternal immune system by the pre-implantation embryo. BMC Genomics. 11(1)
[Journal article]Authored by: Littlejohn, M.
Grala, TM., Kay, JK., Walker, CG., Sheahan, AJ., Littlejohn, MD., Lucy, MC., . . . Roche, JR. (2010). Expression analysis of key somatotropic axis and liporegulatory genes in ghrelin- and obestatin-infused dairy cows. Domestic Animal Endocrinology. 39(1), 76-83
[Journal article]Authored by: Littlejohn, M.
Littlejohn, MD., Walker, CG., Ward, HE., Lehnert, KB., Snell, RG., Verkerk, GA., . . . Davis, SR. (2010). Effects of reduced frequency of milk removal on gene expression in the bovine mammary gland. Physiological Genomics. 41(1), 21-32
[Journal article]Authored by: Littlejohn, M.
Walker, CG., Meier, S., Mitchell, MD., Roche, JR., & Littlejohn, M. (2009). Evaluation of real-time PCR endogenous control genes for analysis of gene expression in bovine endometrium. BMC Molecular Biology. 10, 100
[Journal article]Authored by: Littlejohn, M.
Meier, S., Peterson, AJ., Mitchell, MD., Littlejohn, M., Walker, CG., & Roche, JR. (2009). Genetic strain and reproductive status affect endometrial fatty acid concentrations. Journal of Dairy Science. 92(8), 3723-3730
[Journal article]Authored by: Littlejohn, M.
Littlejohn, MD., Palmer, BR., Richards, AM., Frampton, CM., Pilbrow, AP., Troughton, RW., . . . Kennedy, MA. (2008). Ile164 variant of β2-adrenoceptor does not influence outcome in heart failure but may interact with β blocker treatment. European Journal of Heart Failure. 10(1), 55-59
[Journal article]Authored by: Littlejohn, M., Palmer, B.
Taylor, DR., Epton, MJ., Kennedy, MA., Smith, AD., Iles, S., Miller, AL., . . . Herbison, CP. (2005). Bronchodilator response in relation to β2-adrenoceptor haplotype in patients with asthma. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. 172(6), 700-703
[Journal article]Authored by: Littlejohn, M.
Littlejohn, MD., Taylor, DR., Miller, AL., & Kennedy, MA. (2002). Determination of beta2-adrenergic receptor (ADRB2) haplotypes by a multiplexed polymerase chain reaction assay.. Human mutation. 20(6), 479
[Journal article]Authored by: Littlejohn, M.

Teaching and Supervision

Summary of Doctoral Supervision

Position Current Completed
Main Supervisor 0 1
Co-supervisor 0 2

Completed Doctoral Supervision

Main Supervisor of:

  • 2022 - Edwardo Reynolds - Doctor of Philosophy
    The discovery of novel recessive genetic disorders in dairy cattle.

Co-supervisor of:

  • 2022 - Swati Jivanji - Doctor of Philosophy
    The genetic characterisation of coat colour and patterning traits in cattle
  • 2022 - Kathryn Tiplady - Doctor of Philosophy
    The role of Fourier-transform mid-infrared spectroscopy in improving the prediction of new and existing traits in New Zealand dairy cattle