College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China.
Anim Biotechnol. 2023 Nov;34(4):1314-1323. doi: 10.1080/10495398.2021.2020805. Epub 2022 Jan 5.
Litter size is a critical economic trait in livestock, but only a few studies have focused on associated indel mutations in , a key regulator of ovulation and litter size in sheep. We evaluated the effects of mutations on the reproductive performance of sheep. We used Hu, East Friesian, and East Friesian/Hu crossbred sheep as experimental subjects and identified a novel 90 bp deletion in , which coincides with the c.746A > G ( mutation) genotype. The correlation between the two loci and litter size was then evaluated. We identified three genotypes for the Del-90bp locus, namely, II, ID, and DD, and three genotypes for the c.746A > G locus, namely ++, B+, and BB. Both Del-90bp and c.746A > G significantly affected the litter size of Hu and East Friesian/Hu crossbred sheep. Linkage disequilibrium analysis revealed a strong linkage disequilibrium between these loci in Hu sheep and the F1 population ( > 0.33), which suggests that detecting this 90 bp deletion might be a simple method to identify the likely carriers of c.746A > G. However, the function of this 90-bp deletion still needs further exploration. We provide genetic data that can be used as a reference for the breeding of improved prolific traits in sheep.
产仔数是家畜的一个重要经济性状，但仅有少数研究集中在产仔数的关键调节因子 上的相关缺失突变。我们评估了 突变对绵羊繁殖性能的影响。我们以湖羊、东弗里斯兰羊和东弗里斯兰羊/湖羊杂交羊为实验对象，发现了一个新的 90bp 缺失，与 c.746A > G（ 突变）基因型一致。然后评估了这两个基因座与产仔数之间的相关性。我们在 Del-90bp 基因座鉴定出三个基因型，即 II、ID 和 DD，在 c.746A > G 基因座鉴定出三个基因型，即 ++、B+和 BB。Del-90bp 和 c.746A > G 均显著影响湖羊和东弗里斯兰羊/湖羊杂交羊的产仔数。连锁不平衡分析表明，在湖羊和 F1 群体中，这些基因座之间存在很强的连锁不平衡（ > 0.33），这表明检测这个 90bp 缺失可能是识别 c.746A > G 可能携带者的一种简单方法。然而，这个 90bp 缺失的功能仍需要进一步探索。我们提供了可用于绵羊繁殖改良产仔数性状的遗传数据。
