Liu Modian, Huang Chun, Dai Rongfeng, Ren Wenwen, Li Xinyi, Wu Xiaoyun, Ma Xiaoming, Chu Min, Bao Pengjia, Guo Xian, Pei Jie, Xiong Lin, Yan Ping, Liang Chunnian
Key Laboratory of Yak Breeding Engineering Gansu Province, Lanzhou Institute of Husbandry and Pharmaceutical Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou 730050, China.
Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding on Tibetan Plateau, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Lanzhou 730050, China.
Animals (Basel). 2022 Oct 14;12(20):2779. doi: 10.3390/ani12202779.
Copy number variations (CNVs) are a result of genomic rearrangement affecting DNA regions over 1 kb in length, and can include inversions, translocations, deletions, and duplications. The molecule interacting with CasL-like protein 2 (MICALL2) gene is primarily associated with mitochondrial protein targeting and exhibits predicted stress fiber colocalization. The monoacylglycerol O-acyltransferase 2 (MOGAT2) gene encodes an enzyme responsible for catalyzing diacylglycerol synthesis from 2-monoacylglycerol and fatty acyl-CoA. For this study, blood samples were obtained from 315 yaks, and the body weight, body length, withers height, and chest girth of these animals were measured at 6, 12, 18, and 30 months of age. Genomic DNA was harvested from the collected blood samples, and CNVs in these samples were detected by qPCR. The resultant data were compared using ANOVAs, revealing significant associations between MICALL2 gene CNVs and body weight at 6 months of age (p < 0.05), body length and chest girth at 30 months of age (p < 0.05), and withers height at 18 months of age (p < 0.01) in Ashidan yaks. Similarly, MOGAT2 CNVs were significantly associated with body weight at 6 and 30 months of age (p < 0.05), and with withers height at 18 months of age (p < 0.01) in these Ashidan yaks. MICALL2 and MOGAT2 gene expression was further analyzed in yak tissue samples, revealing that MICALL2 was most highly expressed in the adipose tissue, whereas MOGAT2 was most highly expressed in the lung. These results thus confirmed the relationship between CNVs in the MICALL2 and MOGAT2 genes and Ashidan yak growth traits, providing a valuable gene locus that can be leveraged for future marker-assisted yak breeding efforts.
拷贝数变异（CNV）是基因组重排的结果，会影响长度超过1 kb的DNA区域，并且可包括倒位、易位、缺失和重复。与类CasL样蛋白2（MICALL2）基因相互作用的分子主要与线粒体蛋白靶向相关，并表现出预测的应力纤维共定位。单酰甘油O-酰基转移酶2（MOGAT2）基因编码一种负责催化由2-单酰甘油和脂肪酰辅酶A合成二酰甘油的酶。在本研究中，从315头牦牛采集了血液样本，并在这些动物6、12、18和30月龄时测量了它们的体重、体长、体高和胸围。从采集的血液样本中提取基因组DNA，并通过qPCR检测这些样本中的CNV。使用方差分析对所得数据进行比较，结果显示在阿什旦牦牛中，MICALL2基因CNV与6月龄时的体重（p<0.05）、30月龄时的体长和胸围（p<0.05）以及18月龄时的体高（p<0.01）之间存在显著关联。同样，在这些阿什旦牦牛中，MOGAT2 CNV与6和30月龄时的体重（p<0.05）以及18月龄时的体高（p<0.01）显著相关。进一步对牦牛组织样本中的MICALL2和MOGAT2基因表达进行分析，结果显示MICALL2在脂肪组织中表达最高，而MOGAT2在肺中表达最高。因此，这些结果证实了MICALL2和MOGAT2基因中的CNV与阿什旦牦牛生长性状之间的关系，提供了一个有价值的基因位点，可用于未来标记辅助牦牛育种工作。
