Al-Thuwaini Tahreer M, Al-Shuhaib Mohammed Baqur S, Kadhem Ahmed F, Alkhammas Ahmed H
Department of Animal Production, College of Agriculture, Al-Qasim Green University, Al-Qasim, Iraq.
Bioinform Biol Insights. 2023 May 13;17:11779322231172848. doi: 10.1177/11779322231172848. eCollection 2023.
One of the most valuable traits in production and breeding is a sheep's prolificacy which is influenced by several genes, one of which is the osteopontin () gene. Thus, this study aimed to determine the effect of genetic variation within the gene on Awassi ewe prolificacy. Genomic DNA was extracted from 123 single-progeny ewes and 109 twin ewes. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to amplify 4 sequence fragments (289, 275, 338, and 372 bp), representing exons 4, 5, 6, and 7 of the gene. A 372 bp amplicon was identified with 3 different genotypes: TT, TC, and CC. Sequence analysis revealed a novel mutation in TC genotypes p.Q>R234. Statistical analysis revealed that the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) p.Q>R234 was associated with prolificacy. Ewes carrying the p.Q>R234 SNP had significantly ( ⩽ .01) lower litter sizes, twinning rates, and lambing rates, and more days to lambing than those with the TC and TT genotypes. The p.Q>R234 SNP was confirmed to be responsible for lower litter size through logistic regression analysis. From these results, we can conclude that the missense variant p.Q>R234 adversely affects the traits of interest and shows that the p.Q>R234 SNP negatively influences the prolificacy of Awassi sheep. Based on this study, it is evident that ewes in this population carrying the p.Q>R234 SNP have a lower litter size and are less prolific.
在生产和育种中，绵羊的多产性是最有价值的特性之一，它受多个基因影响，其中一个是骨桥蛋白（）基因。因此，本研究旨在确定该基因内的遗传变异对阿瓦西母羊多产性的影响。从123只单胎母羊和109只双胎母羊中提取基因组DNA。采用聚合酶链反应（PCR）扩增4个序列片段（289、275、338和372 bp），分别代表该基因的第4、5、6和7外显子。鉴定出一个372 bp的扩增子有3种不同基因型：TT、TC和CC。序列分析揭示了TC基因型中一个新的突变p.Q>R234。统计分析表明，单核苷酸多态性（SNP）p.Q>R234与多产性相关。携带p.Q>R234 SNP的母羊产仔数、双羔率和产羔率显著（⩽.01）低于TC和TT基因型的母羊，且产羔天数更多。通过逻辑回归分析证实p.Q>R234 SNP是产仔数降低的原因。从这些结果可以得出结论，错义变异p.Q>R234对所关注的性状有不利影响，表明p.Q>R234 SNP对阿瓦西羊的多产性有负面影响。基于本研究，很明显该群体中携带p.Q>R234 SNP的母羊产仔数较低且繁殖力较低。
