Spencer Rachel J, Ketel Crystal R, Penner Gregory B, Asai-Coakwell Mika
Department of Animal and Poultry Science, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N 5A8, Canada.
Transl Anim Sci. 2023 Mar 10;7(1):txad029. doi: 10.1093/tas/txad029. eCollection 2023 Jan.
The mature peptide of growth differentiation factor 11 (GDF11) in breeds, shares 90% amino acid sequence similarity to myostatin (MSTN), where loss-of-function mutations result in muscular hyperplasia causing a phenotype known as double-muscling. Mutations in the MSTN coding sequence increase muscle mass and reduce fat and bone tissues, but also confer poor fertility, reduced stress tolerance, and increased calf mortality. GDF11 influences skeletal muscle development in mice, and muscular atrophy can be induced by exogenous GDF11 treatment. To date, there are no reports of GDF11's role in bovine carcass traits. To determine associations between GDF11 and carcass quality in beef cattle, bovine GDF11 was examined in crossbred Canadian beef cattle populations during finishing. Few coding variants were found in this functionally important gene, but an upstream variant c.1-1951C > T (rs136619751) with a minor allele frequency of 0.31 was identified and further genotyped in two separate populations of crossbred steers ( = 415 and 450). CC animals had lower backfat thickness, marbling percentage, and yield score than CT or TT animals 0.001 and < 0.05). These data suggest a role of GDF11 in carcass quality in beef cattle and may provide a selection tool to improve carcass traits in cattle.
生长分化因子11（GDF11）的成熟肽在不同品种中与肌肉生长抑制素（MSTN）的氨基酸序列相似度达90%，功能缺失突变会导致肌肉增生，产生双肌现象。MSTN编码序列中的突变可增加肌肉量，减少脂肪和骨骼组织，但也会导致繁殖力差、应激耐受性降低和犊牛死亡率增加。GDF11影响小鼠骨骼肌发育，外源性GDF11处理可诱导肌肉萎缩。迄今为止，尚无关于GDF11在牛胴体性状中作用的报道。为确定GDF11与肉牛胴体品质之间的关联，在育肥期对加拿大杂交肉牛群体中的牛GDF11进行了检测。在这个功能重要的基因中发现的编码变异很少，但鉴定出一个上游变异c.1-1951C>T（rs136619751），其次要等位基因频率为0.31，并在两个独立的杂交阉牛群体（n = 415和450）中进一步进行基因分型。CC基因型动物的背膘厚度、大理石花纹百分比和产量评分低于CT或TT基因型动物（P<0.001和<0.05）。这些数据表明GDF11在肉牛胴体品质中发挥作用，可能为改善牛胴体性状提供一种选择工具。
