Polymorphisms of FST gene and their association with wool quality traits in Chinese Merino sheep

Guang-Wei Ma; Yan-Kai Chu; Wen-Jian Zhang; Fei-Yue Qin; Song-Song Xu; Hua Yang; En-Guang Rong; Zhi-Qiang Du; Shou-Zhi Wang; Hui Li; Ning Wang

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0174868

Polymorphisms of FST gene and their association with wool quality traits in Chinese Merino sheep

PLoS One. 2017 Apr 6;12(4):e0174868. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0174868. eCollection 2017.

Authors

Guang-Wei Ma^{1

2

3}, Yan-Kai Chu^{1

2

3}, Wen-Jian Zhang^{1

2

3}, Fei-Yue Qin^{1

2

3}, Song-Song Xu^{1

2

3}, Hua Yang⁴, En-Guang Rong⁵, Zhi-Qiang Du^{1

2

3}, Shou-Zhi Wang^{1

2

3}, Hui Li^{1

2

3}, Ning Wang^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Chicken Genetics and Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture, Harbin, P. R. China.
² Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Education Department of Heilongjiang Province, Harbin, P. R. China.
³ College of Animal Science and Technology, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, P. R. China.
⁴ Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural and Reclamation Science, Shihezi, P. R. China.
⁵ State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, P. R. China.

Abstract

Follistatin (FST) is involved in hair follicle morphogenesis. However, its effects on hair traits are not clear. This study was designed to investigate the effects of FST gene single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) on wool quality traits in Chinese Merino sheep (Junken Type). We performed gene expression analysis, SNP detection, and association analysis of FST gene with sheep wool quality traits. The real-time RT-PCR analysis showed that FST gene was differentially expressed in adult skin between Chinese Merino sheep (Junken Type) and Suffolk sheep. Immunostaining showed that FST was localized in inner root sheath (IRS) and matrix of hair follicle (HF) in both SF and Suffolk sheep. Sequencing analysis identified a total of seven SNPs (termed SNPs 1-7) in the FST gene in Chinese Merino sheep (Junken Type). Association analysis showed that SNP2 (Chr 16. 25,633,662 G>A) was significantly associated with average wool fiber diameter, wool fineness SD, and wool crimp (P < 0.05). SNP4 (Chr 16. 25,633,569 C>T) was significantly associated with wool fineness SD and CV of fiber diameter (P < 0.05). Similarly, the haplotypes derived from these seven identified SNPs were also significantly associated with average wool fiber diameter, wool fineness SD, CV of fiber diameter, and wool crimp (P < 0.05). Our results suggest that FST influences wool quality traits and its SNPs 2 and 4 might be useful markers for marker-assisted selection and sheep breeding.

MeSH terms

Animals
Follistatin / genetics*
Gene Frequency
Genotype
Haplotypes
Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide*
Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
Sheep / genetics*
Species Specificity
Wool*

Substances

Follistatin

Grants and funding

This study was supported by Domain-Specific projects for transgenic biological breeding (2014ZX08009-002 and 2009ZX08009-160B), The National High Technology Research and Development Program of China (863 program) (grant no. 2013AA102506) and Postgraduate Technology Innovation Project of Northeast Agricultural University (yjscx14006).