Bai Lingrong, Zhou Huitong, He Jianning, Tao Jinzhong, Hickford Jon G H
International Wool Research Institute, Faculty of Animal Science and Technology, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China.
Gene-Marker Laboratory, Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Lincoln University, Lincoln 7647, New Zealand.
Animals (Basel). 2024 Oct 4;14(19):2862. doi: 10.3390/ani14192862.
Understanding the genetic basis of wool traits is crucial for improving wool production. In this study, we investigated the ovine KAP13 gene family, which in humans contains multiple members, while only one member has been identified to date in sheep. Three ovine genes, likely representing , , and , were identified through sequence analysis and phylogenetic comparisons. These genes are positioned on chromosome 1, between and , in a pattern that is like the arrangement in humans but not identical. Analyses revealed multiple sequence variants of each gene in 356 sheep from a variety of wool, meat, and dual-purpose breeds. The effect of these genes on four fibre traits: mean fibre curvature (MFC), mean fibre diameter (MFD), coefficient of variation of fibre diameter (CVFD), and fibre diameter standard deviation (FDSD), was assessed in 240 lambs of the Chinese Tan sheep breed. An allele of was revealed to be associated with a decrease in FDSD and CVFD in heterotypic fibres. No associations were found between variation and wool traits, and an association analysis for was not conducted because no variation was found in this gene in the Chinese Tan sheep studied. These findings suggest a potential role for in regulating wool traits, particularly fibre diameter uniformity in larger heterotypic hair fibres, and suggest its potential use as a marker for improving wool traits.
了解羊毛性状的遗传基础对于提高羊毛产量至关重要。在本研究中，我们调查了绵羊KAP13基因家族，该基因家族在人类中包含多个成员，而迄今为止在绵羊中仅鉴定出一个成员。通过序列分析和系统发育比较，鉴定出三个可能代表KAP13.1、KAP13.2和KAP13.3的绵羊基因。这些基因位于1号染色体上，在55.48和55.52之间，其排列模式与人类相似但不完全相同。分析揭示了来自各种羊毛、肉用和兼用品种的356只绵羊中每个基因的多个序列变异。在中国滩羊品种的240只羔羊中评估了这些基因对四个纤维性状的影响：平均纤维曲率（MFC）、平均纤维直径（MFD）、纤维直径变异系数（CVFD）和纤维直径标准差（FDSD）。结果显示，KAP13.1的一个等位基因与异型纤维中FDSD和CVFD的降低有关。未发现KAP13.2变异与羊毛性状之间存在关联，并且由于在所研究的中国滩羊中未发现该基因的变异，因此未对KAP13.3进行关联分析。这些发现表明KAP13.1在调节羊毛性状，特别是较大异型毛发纤维的纤维直径均匀性方面具有潜在作用，并表明其作为改善羊毛性状的标记物的潜在用途。
