A missense mutation of the gene affects cold tolerance in Chinese domestic cattle.

Inclement weather conditions, especially cold stress, have threatened the cattle industry. Cattle exposed to cold environments for a longer time suffer developmental delay, immunity decline, and eventually death. is a member of With-no-lysine kinases (s), widely expressed in animal organs and tissues. and are expressed in adipose tissue, and promotes adipogenesis. does not directly affect adipogenesis but has been shown to promote expression in several tissues or organs. One missense mutation NC_037346.1:g.107692244, A > G, rs208265410 in the gene was detected from the database of bovine genomic variation (BGVD). Here, we collected 328 individuals of 17 breeds representing four groups of Chinese cattle, northern group cattle, southern group cattle, central group cattle, and special group cattle (Tibetan cattle). We also collected the temperature and humidity data records from their relative locations. The frequencies of the G allele in Chinese breeds increased from northern China to southern China, and the frequencies of the A allele showed an opposite trend. Our results indicate that the gene might be a candidate gene marker associated with cold tolerance.