Association of OLR1 gene polymorphism with live body weight and body morphometric traits in Awassi ewes: short communication.

BACKGROUND

Oxidized low-density lipoprotein receptor 1 (OLR1) is an endothelial receptor that binds and degrades oxidized low-density lipoproteins (Ox-LDL), thus having a physiological role in metabolism. Polymorphisms in the OLR1 gene are associated with animals with different production traits. Due to this, the study aimed to determine if OLR1 polymorphisms in Awassi ewes associate with live body weight and body measurement.

METHODS AND RESULTS

In this study, 200 ewes between the ages of 2.5 and 5 years, not pregnant or lactating, were selected. Phenotypic measurements including live body weight and body measurements were collected. A sheep's blood was collected to extract genomic DNA, genotyped, and sequenced to confirm the presence of the variants that arose from the amplified fragments. One novel C246A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) was identified in the OLR1 gene (exon 3) that assigned two genotypes CC and CA. The study indicated significant differences (P ≤ 0.05) in live body weight and body measurements of the genotype CC compared with the genotype CA. The genotype CC correlated positively with live body weight, height at shoulder, height at hip, chest girth, and chest width (r = 0.67, P = 0.02), (r = 0.54, P = 0.03), (r = 0.61, P = 0.02), (r = 0.53, P = 0.01) and (r = 0.66, P = 0.04) respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Sheep with the CC genotype had a higher live body weight and larger body measurement, making them better for productivity. These genotypic data and associations can be used to better select sheep for future marker-assisted selection programs.