Association Between Functional Polymorphisms and Sheep Tail Type.

Bone morphogenetic protein 2 () is strongly selected in both fat-tailed and thin-tailed sheep and may be a candidate gene for sheep tail type selection. However, the mechanism of action of in sheep tail fat deposition remains unclear. This study investigated genetic variation and haplotype combinations of the gene in sheep with different tail types, aiming to reveal the molecular mechanism of in sheep tail fat deposition. We detected a total of three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (g.48401619 T > A, g.48401272 C > A, and g.48401136 C > T) among 533 sheep. The alleles and genotype frequencies of these SNPs were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and showed significant correlations with tail length. Linkage disequilibrium existed between the g.48401272 C > A and g.48401136 C > T sites, where CACT was the predominant genotype. At the cellular level, the expression levels of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma () and lipoprotein lipase () were upregulated after overexpression; there were significantly higher levels of than controls at 0 d and 1 d, and of than controls at 1 d and 7 d. These results indicate that the gene may participate in sheep tail fat deposition and could be used for molecular-marker-assisted selection of sheep tail type.