Brenig, Bertram, Prof. Dr.

Professor of Molecular Biology of Livestock, Director of the Institute of Veterinary Medicine


  • 1979 – 1984 Studies of Veterinary Medicine at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University (Munich) and University of Veterinary Medicine (Vienna)
  • 1987 Dr. med. vet. Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich
  • 1987 Postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Animal Physiology and Genetics Research (Edinburgh, Scotland)
  • 1988 Postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Immunology (LMU, Munich)
  • 1988 – 1993 Research assistant and group leader at the Institute of Animal Breeding and Genetics (LMU, Munich) and Max-Planck-Institute for Biochemistry (Martinsried)
  • since 1993 Full professor (C4) and director of the Institute of Veterinary Medicine (University of Göttingen)
  • 2016 Prof. h. c. of the Jiangxi Agricultural University (PR China)
  • 2018 Prof. h. c. of the Russian State Academy for Biotechnology and Veterinary Medicine Moscow (Russia)


  • Major Research Interests

    We are interested in the structural and functional analysis of mammalian genes and genomes and are investigating the cause of different important genetic traits and defects in domestic animals.

    Currently we are working on the following projects in different species:
    Bos taurus
    Leg and feet disease (digital dermatitis)
    Early embryonal death (lethal haplotypes)
    Male infertility
    Bovine spastic paresis
    Congenital hypotrichosis

    Canis familiaris
    Hemophilia A
    Deafness

    Honey bee
    Hygienic behaviour


    We are using genome wide association studies (high-throughput screening and genotyping, GWAS) and next generation sequencing (NGS) techniques for the identification of chromosomal regions that are linked to the traits or disorders. Fine mapping, positional cloning and candidate gene analysis are used for further elucidation.


    Homepage Department/Research Group

    http://www.tieraerztliches-institut.uni-goettingen.de



    Selected Recent Publications


    • Kwiatkowski M, Asif AR, Schumacher J, Brenig B, Zischler H, Herlyn H (2020) Intra-Protein Coevolution Is Increasingly Functional with Greater Proximity to Fertilization. Cytogenet Genome Res 160: 295-308
    • Leidenfrost RM, Bansch S, Prudnikow L, Brenig B, Westphal C, Wunschiers R (2020) Analyzing the Dietary Diary of Bumble Bee. Front Plant Sci 11: 287
    • Liu W, Sender S, Kong W, Beck J, Sekora A, Bornemann-Kolatzki K, Schuetz E, Junghanss C, Brenig B, Nolte I, Murua Escobar H (2020) Establishment and characterization of stable red, far-red (fR) and near infra-red (NIR) transfected canine prostate cancer cell lines. Cancer Cell Int 20: 139
    • Shan S, Xu F, Bleyer M, Becker S, Melbaum T, Wemheuer W, Hirschfeld M, Wacker C, Zhao S, Schutz E, Brenig B (2020) Association of alpha/beta-Hydrolase D16B with Bovine Conception Rate and Sperm Plasma Membrane Lipid Composition. Int J Mol Sci 21(2): 627
    • Viesser JA, de Melo Pereira GV, de Carvalho Neto DP, Vandenberghe LPS, Azevedo V, Brenig B, Rogez H, Goes-Neto A, Soccol CR (2020) Exploring the contribution of fructophilic lactic acid bacteria to cocoa beans fermentation: Isolation, selection and evaluation. Food Res Int 136: 109478
    • Zhang X, Hirschfeld M, Beck J, Kupke A, Kohler K, Schutz E, Brenig B (2020) Osteogenesis imperfecta in a male holstein calf associated with a possible oligogenic origin. Vet Q 40: 58-67
    • Hosseini S, Ha NT, Simianer H, Falker-Gieske C, Brenig B, Franke A, Horstgen-Schwark G, Tetens J, Herzog S, Sharifi AR (2019) Genetic mechanism underlying sexual plasticity and its association with colour patterning in zebrafish (Danio rerio). BMC Genomics 20: 341
    • Brenig B, Steingraber L, Shan S, Xu F, Hirschfeld M, Andag R, Spengeler M, Dietschi E, Mischke R, Leeb T (2019) Christmas disease in a Hovawart family resembling human hemophilia B Leyden is caused by a single nucleotide deletion in a highly conserved transcription factor binding site of the F9 gene promoter. Haematologica
    • Hosseini S, Brenig B, Tetens J, Sharifi AR (2019) Phenotypic plasticity induced using high ambient temperature during embryogenesis in domesticated zebrafish, Danio rerio. Reprod Domest Anim 54: 435-444
    • Taher L, Beck J, Liu W, Roolf C, Soller JT, Rutgen BC, Hammer SE, Chodisetti M, Sender S, Sterenczak KA, Fuellen G, Junghanss C, Brenig B, Nolte I, Schutz E, Murua Escobar H (2018) Comparative high-resolution transcriptome sequencing of lymphoma cell lines and de novo lymphomas reveals cell-line-specific pathway dysregulation. Sci Rep 8: 6279
    • Granados-Soler JL, Junginger J, Hewicker-Trautwein M, Bornemann-Kolatzki K, Beck J, Brenig B, Betz D, Schille JT, Murua Escobar H, Nolte I (2018) TiHo-0906: a new feline mammary cancer cell line with molecular, morphological, and immunocytological characteristics of epithelial to mesenchymal transition. Sci Rep 8: 13231
    • Ferreira DSS, Kato RB, Miranda FM, da Costa Pinheiro K, Fonseca PLC, Tome LMR, Vaz ABM, Badotti F, Ramos RTJ, Brenig B, Azevedo VAC, Benevides RG, Goes-Neto A (2018) Draft genome sequence of Trametes villosa (Sw.) Kreisel CCMB561, a tropical white-rot Basidiomycota from the semiarid region of Brazil. Data Brief 18: 1581-1587
    • Awasthi Mishra N, Drogemuller C, Jagannathan V, Keller I, Wuthrich D, Bruggmann R, Beck J, Schutz E, Brenig B, Demmel S, Moser S, Signer-Hasler H, Pienkowska-Schelling A, Schelling C, Sande M, Rongen R, Rieder S, Kelsh RN, Mercader N, Leeb T (2017) A structural variant in the 5'-flanking region of the TWIST2 gene affects melanocyte development in belted cattle. PLoS One 12: e0180170
    • Hollmann AK, Bleyer M, Tipold A, Nessler JN, Wemheuer WE, Schutz E, Brenig B (2017) A genome-wide association study reveals a locus for bilateral iridal hypopigmentation in Holstein Friesian cattle. BMC Genet 18: 30
    • Hollmann AK, Dammann I, Wemheuer WM, Wemheuer WE, Chilla A, Tipold A, Schulz-Schaeffer WJ, Beck J, Schutz E, Brenig B (2017) Morgagnian cataract resulting from a naturally occurring nonsense mutation elucidates a role of CPAMD8 in mammalian lens development. PLoS One 12: e0180665
    • Liu W, Beck J, Schmidt LC, Roolf C, Pews-Davtyan A, Rutgen BC, Hammer S, Willenbrock S, Sekora A, Rolfs A, Beller M, Brenig B, Nolte I, Junghanss C, Schutz E, Escobar HM (2016) Characterization of the novel indolylmaleimides' PDA-66 and PDA-377 effect on canine lymphoma cells. Oncotarget 7: 35379-35389
    • Menzi F, Keller I, Reber I, Beck J, Brenig B, Schutz E, Leeb T, Drogemuller C (2016) Genomic amplification of the caprine EDNRA locus might lead to a dose dependent loss of pigmentation. Sci Rep 6: 28438