Polymorphisms of the bovine DKK2 and their associations with body measurement traits and meat quality traits in Qinchuan cattle

Mol Biol Rep. 2013 Dec;40(12):6831-5. doi: 10.1007/s11033-013-2800-3. Epub 2013 Sep 21.

Abstract

The objective of this research were to detect bovine Dickkopf 2 (DKK2) gene polymorphism and analyze their associations with body measurement traits (BMT) and meat quality traits (MQT) of animals. Blood samples were taken from a total of 541 Qinchuan cattle aged from 18 to 24 months. Polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) was employed to find out DKK2 single-polymorphism nucleotide (SNPs) and to explore their possible association with BMT and MQT. Sequence analysis of DKK2 gene revealed 2 SNPs (C29 T and A169C) in 5' untranslated region (5'UTR) of exon 1.C29T and A164T SNPs are both synonymous mutation, which showed 2 genotypes namely (CC, CT) and (AA and AC), respectively. Association analysis of polymorphism with body measurement and meat quality traits at the two locus showed that there were significant effects on CT, BL, RL, PBW, BFT, LMA, and IFC. These results suggest that the DKK2 gene might have potential effects on BMT and MQT in Qinchuan cattle population and could be used for marker-assisted selection.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • 5' Untranslated Regions / genetics
  • Animals
  • Base Pairing / genetics
  • Base Sequence
  • Body Weight / genetics*
  • Cattle / genetics*
  • Chi-Square Distribution
  • China
  • Exons / genetics
  • Gene Frequency / genetics
  • Genetic Association Studies*
  • Genetic Loci
  • Genetics, Population
  • Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / genetics*
  • Meat / standards*
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Mutation / genetics
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide / genetics*
  • Polymorphism, Single-Stranded Conformational
  • Quantitative Trait, Heritable*
  • Sequence Analysis, DNA

Substances

  • 5' Untranslated Regions
  • Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins