Association of DGAT1 With Cattle, Buffalo, Goat, and Sheep Milk and Meat Production Traits

Muhammad Zahoor Khan; Yulin Ma; Jiaying Ma; Jianxin Xiao; Yue Liu; Shuai Liu; Adnan Khan; Ibrar Muhammad Khan; Zhijun Cao

doi:10.3389/fvets.2021.712470

Association of DGAT1 With Cattle, Buffalo, Goat, and Sheep Milk and Meat Production Traits

Front Vet Sci. 2021 Aug 16:8:712470. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2021.712470. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Muhammad Zahoor Khan^{1

2}, Yulin Ma¹, Jiaying Ma¹, Jianxin Xiao¹, Yue Liu¹, Shuai Liu¹, Adnan Khan³, Ibrar Muhammad Khan⁴, Zhijun Cao¹

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Beijing Engineering Technology Research Center of Raw Milk Quality and Safety Control, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.
² Faculty of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Gomal University, Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan.
³ Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Genome Analysis Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen, China.
⁴ Anhui Provincial Laboratory of Local Livestock and Poultry Genetical Resource Conservation and Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, China.

Abstract

Milk fatty acids are essential for many dairy product productions, while intramuscular fat (IMF) is associated with the quality of meat. The triacylglycerols (TAGs) are the major components of IMF and milk fat. Therefore, understanding the polymorphisms and genes linked to fat synthesis is important for animal production. Identifying quantitative trait loci (QTLs) and genes associated with milk and meat production traits has been the objective of various mapping studies in the last decade. Consistently, the QTLs on chromosomes 14, 15, and 9 have been found to be associated with milk and meat production traits in cattle, goat, and buffalo and sheep, respectively. Diacylglycerol O-acyltransferase 1 (DGAT1) gene has been reported on chromosomes 14, 15, and 9 in cattle, goat, and buffalo and sheep, respectively. Being a key role in fat metabolism and TAG synthesis, the DGAT1 has obtained considerable attention especially in animal milk production. In addition to milk production, DGAT1 has also been a subject of interest in animal meat production. Several polymorphisms have been documented in DGAT1 in various animal species including cattle, buffalo, goat, and sheep for their association with milk production traits. In addition, the DGAT1 has also been studied for their role in meat production traits in cattle, sheep, and goat. However, very limited studies have been conducted in cattle for association of DGAT1 with meat production traits in cattle. Moreover, not a single study reported the association of DGAT1 with meat production traits in buffalo; thus, further studies are warranted to fulfill this huge gap. Keeping in view the important role of DGAT1 in animal production, the current review article was designed to highlight the major development and new insights on DGAT1 effect on milk and meat production traits in cattle, buffalo, sheep, and goat. Moreover, we have also highlighted the possible future contributions of DGAT1 for the studied species.

Keywords: DGAT1; genetic marker; meat production; milk production; polymorphisms.

Publication types

Review