Are two beneficial mutations (p.Q249R and 90-bp Indel) within the ovine BMPRIB gene associated with growth traits?

Hongwei Xu; Nazar Akhmet; Yunyun Luo; Zhenggang Guo; Chuanying Pan; Enliang Song; Nurlan Malmakov; Zhanerke Akhatayeva; Xianyong Lan

doi:10.3389/fvets.2023.1280548

Are two beneficial mutations (p.Q249R and 90-bp Indel) within the ovine BMPRIB gene associated with growth traits?

Front Vet Sci. 2024 Apr 5:10:1280548. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2023.1280548. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Hongwei Xu¹, Nazar Akhmet², Yunyun Luo², Zhenggang Guo³, Chuanying Pan², Enliang Song⁴, Nurlan Malmakov⁵, Zhanerke Akhatayeva^{2

5}, Xianyong Lan²

Affiliations

¹ College of Life Science and Engineering, Northwest Minzu University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China.
² Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China.
³ Bijie Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science Research Institute, Bijie, Guizhou, China.
⁴ Shandong Key Lab of Animal Disease Control and Breeding, Institute of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Jinan, China.
⁵ Scientific Research Institute of Sheep Breeding Branch, Kazakh Scientific Research Institute of Animal Husbandry and Fodder Production, Mynbaev, Almaty Region, Kazakhstan.

Abstract

Background: The problem of achieving economic efficiency in sheep breeding can be largely solved by increasing sheep productivity. Recently, the BMPRIB gene has been revealed by GWAS as a potential candidate gene for sheep body morphometric traits. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate whether genetic polymorphisms (p.Q249R SNP and 90-bp deletion) in the BMPRIB gene are associated with sheep growth traits.

Methods: PCR-based genotyping was performed on 1,875 sheep, including 1,191 Guiqian semi-fine wool (GQSFW), 560 Luxi Blackhead (LXBH), 55 Lanzhou fat-tailed (LZFT), and 69 Weining (WN) sheep. Genotype-phenotype association was assessed using the independent samples t-test and ANOVA. The significance level was set at α_original < 0.05. The threshold p-value for significance was adjusted after correction for multiple comparisons using the Bonferroni correction.

Results: After the Bonferroni correction, it was found that individuals with FecB⁺/FecB⁺ genotypes of the p.Q249R had significantly better growth traits in LXBH ewe lambs, including the body length, chest width, paunch girth, cannon circumference, and hip width (P<0.0005). Meanwhile, associations were observed between 90-bp deletion polymorphism and several growth traits (body length, body height, chest depth, and canon circumference) in GQSFW ewe adults after the Bonferroni correction (P < 0.0002), and individuals with the "DD" genotypes had greater growth traits.

Conclusion: Our findings align with the experimental observations from GWAS, which identified the BMPRIB gene as a potential candidate gene for body measurement traits. These findings not only confirm the previous study's results but also expand on them. Therefore, further investigations regarding the impact of BMPRIB polymorphisms on growth traits are necessary in other sheep breeds.

Keywords: FecB (BMPRIB); MAS; growth traits; polymorphism; sheep.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was funded by the Major biological breeding programs (No. 2022ZD040130207), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 32060741) and Modern Agricultural Development Strategy Research Project (Modern Agricultural Development Strategy Research) between the Northwest A&F University and Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Countries: China-Kazakhstan Sheep Industry Development Strategy Research (SCO23A008).