Bovine Gene Identified from : mRNA Profile Analysis and Genetic Variation Detection Using ME Method and Their Associations with Carcass Traits.

The () gene regulates limb skeletal development and muscle growth, thus, it was selected as a candidate gene for bovine carcass traits. In this study, we analyzed the mRNA expression level of in various tissues and cells, and determined the genetic variations in the gene, which might be used as molecular markers for cattle breeding. The mRNA expression profiles of in bovine different tissues showed that was highly expressed in both fat and muscle. The gene expression trend of in myoblasts and adipocytes indicated that might be involved in the differentiation of bovine myoblasts and adipocytes. The data in the Ensembl database showed that there are two putative insertion/deletion (InDel) polymorphisms in the bovine gene. The insertion site (rs515880802) was located in the upstream region (NC_037331.1: g. 68853364-68853365) and named as P1-Ins-4-bp, and the deletion site (rs517582703) was located in the intronic region (NC_037331.1: g. 68859510-68859517) and named as P2-Del-8-bp. These polymorphisms within the gene were identified and genotyped by PCR amplification, agarose gel electrophoresis and DNA sequencing in the 640 Shandong Black Cattle Genetic Resource (SDBCGR) population. Moreover, the mutation frequency was very low after detection, so the mathematical expectation (ME) method was used for detection. Statistical analysis demonstrated that P1-Ins-4-bp was significantly correlated with the beef shoulder ( = 0.012) and tongue root ( = 0.004). Meanwhile, P2-Del-8-bp displayed a significant correlation with the back tendon ( = 0.008), money tendon ( = 2.84 × 10), thick flank ( = 0.034), beef shin ( = 9.09 × 10), triangle thick flank ( = 0.04), triangle flank ( = 1.00 × 10), rump ( = 0.018) and small tenderloin ( = 0.043) in the female SDBCGR population. In summary, these outcomes may provide a new perspective for accelerating the molecular breeding of cattle through marker-assisted selection (MAS) strategies.