Polymorphism and expression level of the gene and associated with the growth traits in Hu sheep.

Growth traits are the economically important traits of sheep, and screening for genes related to growth and development is helpful for the genetic improvement of ovine growth traits. The fatty acid desaturase 3 () is one of the important genes affecting the synthesis and accumulation of polyunsaturated fatty acids in animals. In this study, the expression levels of the gene and polymorphism of the gene associated with growth traits in Hu sheep were detected using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), Sanger sequencing, and KAspar assay. The result showed that the expression levels of the gene were widely expressed in all tissues, and the expression level of in the lung was significantly higher than in other tissues ( < .05). Then, the polymorphism locus g. 2918 A > C was detected in intron 2 of the gene, and associated analysis showed that the mutation in the gene was associated significantly with growth traits (including body weight, body height, body length, and chest circumference,  < .05). Therefore, individuals with genotype showed significantly better growth traits than those with genotype, and gene could be a candidate gene for improving growth traits in Hu sheep.