Novel Variants in the HMGA2 Gene Are Associated With Withers Height in Debao Pony

Shuqin Liu; Shunyan Jiang; Xiang Gui Dong; Ran Cui; Yao Ling; Chunjiang Zhao

doi:10.1016/j.jevs.2020.102948

Novel Variants in the HMGA2 Gene Are Associated With Withers Height in Debao Pony

J Equine Vet Sci. 2020 May:88:102948. doi: 10.1016/j.jevs.2020.102948. Epub 2020 Feb 1.

Authors

Shuqin Liu¹, Shunyan Jiang², Xiang Gui Dong², Ran Cui², Yao Ling², Chunjiang Zhao³

Affiliations

¹ Equine Center, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China; College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China; National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, Beijing, China; Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing, China.
² Equine Center, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China; College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.
³ Equine Center, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China; College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China; National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, Beijing, China; Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing, China; Beijing Key Laboratory of Animal Genetic Improvement, Beijing, China. Electronic address: cjzhao@cau.edu.cn.

PMID: 32303316
DOI: 10.1016/j.jevs.2020.102948

Abstract

The Debao pony is a well-known dwarf horse breed in China. High-mobility group AT-hook 2 (HMGA2) gene is regarded as one of the important candidate genes regulating body height in horses. The aim of this study was to study the association between mutations in HMGA2 gene and withers height in Debao ponies. The polymorphisms in all exons and partial introns of the HMGA2 gene were screened with sequencing across 180 Debao ponies. And the association between the DNA variants and withers height was analyzed. Seven genetic variants were identified in HMGA2 gene, including six novel variants. Among them, six mutations were located in two closed linked blocks. The three novel variants (In1-1, E5-1, and E5-2) in the 1st intron and the fifth exon and a known mutation (In1-2) had significant association with withers height in Debao ponies. These results suggest that the four variants have the potential to be used as genetic markers for dwarf horse breeding activities.

Keywords: Debao ponies; HMGA2 gene; SNP; Withers height.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Body Height* / genetics
China
Exons / genetics
HMGA2 Protein* / genetics
Horses* / genetics
Humans

Substances

HMGA2 Protein