Chemerin, highly expressed in adipose and liver tissues, regulates glucose and lipid metabolism and immunity in these tissues in ruminants and mice. Our previous reports showed that chemerin is involved in adipogenesis and lipid metabolism in adipose tissue as an adipokine. The aim of the present study was to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the coding region of the chemerin gene and to analyze their effects on carcass traits and intramuscular fatty acid compositions in Japanese Black cattle. The SNPs in the bovine chemerin gene were detected in 232 Japanese Black steers (n = 161) and heifers (n = 71) using DNA sequencing. The results revealed five novel silent mutations: NM_001046020: c.12A>G (4aa), c.165G<A (55aa), c.276C>T (92aa), c.321 A>G (107aa), and c.396C>T (132aa). There was no association between 4 of the SNPs (c.12A>G [4aa], c.165G<A [55aa], c.321 A>G [107aa], and c.396C>T) and carcass traits or intramuscular fatty acid compositions. Regarding the remaining SNP, c.276C>T, we found that cattle with genotype CC had a higher beef marbling score than that of cattle with genotype CT, whereas cattle with genotype CT had a higher body condition score (p<0.10). Further, cattle with genotype CC had significantly higher C18:0 content in their intramuscular fat tissue than that of cattle with genotype CT (p<0.05). On the other hand, cattle with genotype CT had significantly higher C14:0 and C16:0 content in their intramuscular fat tissue (p<0.05). Moreover, the number of individuals carrying the minor allele of c.276C>T SNP is small. It is suggested that the c.276C>T SNP of the chemerin gene has potential in cattle breeding using modern methods, such as marker assisted selection. So, further functional and physiological research elucidating the impact of the chemerin gene on bovine lipid metabolism including fatty acid synthesis will help in understanding these results.
Keywords: Carcass Trait; Chemerin; Japanese Black Cattle; Single Nucleotide Polymorphism.