Novel SNPs in the exon region of bovine DKK4 gene and their association with body measurement traits in Qinchuan cattle

Genet Mol Res. 2013 Feb 28;12(4):6664-72. doi: 10.4238/2013.February.28.30.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine whether single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of bovine Dickkopf homolog 4 (DKK4) are associated with body measurement traits in Qinchuan cattle. By using PCR-SSCP technology and DNA sequencing, we discovered 5 DKK4 SNPs in Qingchuan cattle, including -65G>A and -77G>T in the 5'-untranslated region, 1532C>G and 1533T>C in exon 2, and 2088C>T in exon 3. The sequencing map showed that 1532C>G and 1533T>C were in close linkage disequilibrium and were treated as 1532C>G-1533T>C in this study. Allele frequencies were calculated and analyzed by the chi-square test, which showed that -65G>A and 1532C>G-1533T>C were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (P > 0.05), whereas -77G>T and 2088C>T were not in all 633 tested Qinchuan cattle individuals (P < 0.01). Gene heterozygosity (HE), effective allele number (NE), and polymorphism information content (PIC) were 0.407, 1.686, and 0.324 at -65G>A; 0.472, 1.894, and 0.361 at -77G>T; 0.476, 1.908, and 0.363 at 1532C>G-1533T>C; and 0.218, 1.279, and 0.195 at 2088C>T. We also evaluated the potential association of these SNPs with body measurement traits in all 633 individuals; the results suggest that several SNPs in Qinchuan cattle DKK4 were significantly associated with body length, hip height, rump length, hip width, heart girth, and pin bone width (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01). These results suggest that bovine DKK4 could be used as candidate gene for Qinchuan cattle breeding.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Base Sequence
  • Body Composition / genetics
  • Body Weight / genetics
  • Breeding
  • Cattle / genetics*
  • China
  • Female
  • Gene Frequency
  • Genetic Markers
  • Genotype
  • Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / genetics*
  • Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques / veterinary*
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction / veterinary
  • Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
  • Polymorphism, Single-Stranded Conformational
  • Sequence Analysis, DNA

Substances

  • Genetic Markers
  • Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins