Chediak-Higashi syndrome (CHS) is an autosomal recessive hereditary disorder in 
Japanese Black cattle, caused by a mutation of the Lyst gene. So far, the 
mutation has been detected by PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism 
(PCR-RFLP) analysis. However, this method is disadvantaged by its low-throughput 
performance. Here, we report an alternative method involving real-time PCR with 
TaqMan minor groove binder probes, which shortens the total assay time by more 
than 120 min, analyzing 10 samples in a duplicated manner. Using this method, we 
examined 102 Japanese Black cattle and found that 8.8% of the cattle were 
CHS-carriers. These data indicate that our technique is useful for routine 
diagnostic testing for CHS in Japanese Black cattle.