Heterozygous Single-Nucleotide Polymorphism Genotypes at Heat Shock Protein 70 Gene Potentially Influence Thermo-Tolerance Among Four Zebu Breeds of Nigeria

Gbolabo Olaitan Onasanya; George Mutani Msalya; Aranganoor Kannan Thiruvenkadan; Chirukandoth Sreekumar; Gopalan Krishnaswamy Tirumurugaan; Adeboye O Fafiolu; Matthew A Adeleke; Abdulmojeed Yakubu; Christian Obiora Ndubuisi Ikeobi; Moses Okpeku

doi:10.3389/fgene.2021.642213

Heterozygous Single-Nucleotide Polymorphism Genotypes at Heat Shock Protein 70 Gene Potentially Influence Thermo-Tolerance Among Four Zebu Breeds of Nigeria

Front Genet. 2021 Apr 12:12:642213. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2021.642213. eCollection 2021.

Affiliations

¹ Department of Animal Science, Federal University Dutse, Dutse, Nigeria.
² Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta, Abeokuta, Nigeria.
³ Mecheri Sheep Research Station Pottaneri, Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Chennai, India.
⁴ Biotechnology Laboratory, Post Graduate Research Institute in Animal Sciences, Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Chennai, India.
⁵ Department of Animal, Aquaculture and Range Sciences, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania.
⁶ Department of Animal Biotechnology, Madras Veterinary College, Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Chennai, India.
⁷ Department of Animal Nutrition, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Abeokuta, Nigeria.
⁸ Discipline of Genetics, School of Life Sciences, College of Agriculture, Engineering and Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa.
⁹ Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Nigeria.

Abstract

Genetic variants at heat shock protein 70 gene and their influence on heat stress (HS) tolerance were studied among selected Nigeria zebu, namely, 25 White Fulani (WF), 21 Sokoto Gudali (SG), 21 Red Bororo (RB), and 23 Ambala (AM). Detection of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) followed by determination of genotype and genotypic frequency was made among the selected breeds. The heat tolerance coefficient (HTC) was determined from thermo-related parameters including body temperature, rectal temperature, and respiratory rate. Thermo-Tolerance was evaluated through the SNP-thermo-parameter relationship. Statistical analyses were done using the GLM procedure in SAS. A quantitative real-time/high-resolution melting-based assay detected twelve genetic variants. Five of these were common and shared across all breeds of cattle. Of the remaining seven variants, three were specifically identified in AM, two in SG, and two in RB. Also, SNPs were evaluated and four unique SNPs (C151T, C146T, G90A, and C219A) were identified. Heterozygous animals had lower HTC suggesting their potential to withstand HS than homozygous counterparts. The WF and RB animals had significantly lower values for all parameters (BT, RT, RR, and HTC) compared to AM and SG breeds. Thermo-related parameters were significantly different (P < 0.001), and it is recommended that screening of SNPs in zebu is needed to enable selection for improved thermo-tolerance.

Keywords: heat tolerance; heterozygosity; native cattle; polymorphisms; thermal stress.