Song X M, Jiang J F, Zhang G Z, Shi F X, Jiang Y Q
Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, China.
Genet Mol Res. 2012 Dec 17;11(4):4432-41. doi: 10.4238/2012.September.27.3.
The melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) has important roles in regulating food intake, energy balance, and body weight in mammals. In pigs and cattle, MC4R mutations have been identified as genetic markers for growth and traits. Compared with abundant research conducted on other livestock species, little is known about mutations of the ovine MC4R gene. We investigated the effect of MC4R polymorphisms on birth weight and on 45-day weaning weight in 144 Hu sheep. Four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs; g.1016 G/A, g.1240 T/C, g.1264 G/A, and g.1325 A/G) were identified in the 3ꞌ-untranslated region of Hu sheep MC4R by PCR-single-strand conformation polymorphism and DNA sequencing. A haplotype block, containing g.1240 T/C, g.1264 G/A, and g.1325 A/G, was constructed within the Hu sheep MC4R gene. Four SNPs were found to be significantly associated with 45-day weaning weight, while the haplotype block was significantly associated with birth weight. Hu sheep with the genotypes GG in g.1016 G/A or with the genotype CCAAGG in the haplotype block, had higher 45-day weaning weights. We conclude that these 4 SNPs of the MC4R gene have potential as genetic markers for early growth traits in Hu sheep.
黑皮质素-4受体（MC4R）在调节哺乳动物的食物摄入、能量平衡和体重方面发挥着重要作用。在猪和牛中，MC4R突变已被确定为生长和性状的遗传标记。与对其他家畜物种进行的大量研究相比，人们对绵羊MC4R基因的突变了解甚少。我们研究了MC4R基因多态性对144只湖羊出生体重和45日龄断奶体重的影响。通过PCR-单链构象多态性和DNA测序，在湖羊MC4R基因的3′非翻译区鉴定出4个单核苷酸多态性（SNP；g.1016 G/A、g.1240 T/C、g.1264 G/A和g.1325 A/G）。在湖羊MC4R基因内构建了一个包含g.1240 T/C、g.1264 G/A和g.1325 A/G的单倍型块。发现4个SNP与45日龄断奶体重显著相关，而单倍型块与出生体重显著相关。g.1016 G/A基因型为GG或单倍型块基因型为CCAAGG的湖羊45日龄断奶体重较高。我们得出结论，MC4R基因的这4个SNP有潜力作为湖羊早期生长性状的遗传标记。
