title: Bos indicus type of growth hormone receptor gene is retained in Japanese Black cattle.
abstract: The growth hormone receptor (GHR) gene is responsible for growth and carcass traits, and polymorphisms associated with the variation of meat production are thought to occur in the liver-specific promoter of the GHR gene in cattle. The aim of this study was to analyse the structure of the liver-specific promoter of GHR in Japanese Black cattle, as the relationship between GHR polymorphism and meat production is poorly understood in this breed. Typically in European cattle, the LINE-1 element, a family of retrotransposons, is inserted in the liver-specific promoter. However, a short GHR promoter without the LINE-1 sequence was found in the Japanese Black breed as in Bos indicus cattle. The frequency of the short allele was approximately 60%. In addition, 24 of 29 Holstein/Japanese Black crosses carried the short allele from their sire. The present result suggests that the short allele for GHR may be a candidate marker for improving meat production of Japanese Black cattle.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Agriculture, Kagawa University, Kagawa, Japan. ohkubo@ag.kagawa-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ohkubo
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yano
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kimura
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tanaka
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism; D020084:Long Interspersed Nucleotide Elements / Q000235:genetics; D008460:Meat; D010641:Phenotype; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D011986:Receptors, Somatotropin / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D011986:Receptors, Somatotropin