Corticotropin releasing hormone is a promising candidate gene for marbling and subcutaneous fat depth in beef cattle.
The gene corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH) is mapped on bovine chromosome 14 (BTA14), where more than 30 fat-related quantitative trait loci (QTLs) have been reported in dairy and beef cattle. The gene product regulates secretion of adrenocorticotrophin hormone, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, and multiple hypothalamic functions; therefore, we hypothesized that CRH is a promising candidate gene for beef marbling score (BMS) and subcutaneous fat depth (SFD) in a Wagyu x Limousin F2 population. Two pairs of primers were designed and a total of 5 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified: g.9657C>T, c.10718G>C, c.10841G>A, c.10893A>C, and c.10936G>C (AAFC03076794.1). Among the 4 cSNPs, c.10718G>C, c.10841G>A, and c.10936G>C are missense mutations leading to amino acid changes from arginine to proline, from serine to asparagine, and from aspartic acid to histidine, respectively. These 5 SNPs were genotyped on ~250 F2 progeny, but only 4 were selected as tagging SNPs for association analysis because no historical recombination was observed between c.10718G>C and c.10893A>C. Statistical analysis showed that g.9657C>T, c.10718G>C, and c.10936G>C and their haplotypes had significant effects on SFD, but only c.10936G>C was significantly associated with BMS. The SNP in the promoter (g.9657C>T) led to gain/loss of a CpG site and 4 potential regulatory binding sites. Different haplotypes among the 4 cSNPs significantly affected mRNA secondary structures but were not associated with phenotypes. Overall, our results provide further evidence that CRH is a promising candidate gene for a concordant QTL related to lipid metabolism in mammals.
Department of Animal Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-6351, USA.
Tito A
TA
Wibowo
Jennifer J
JJ
Michal
Zhihua
Z
Jiang
D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D001665:Binding Sites; D002417:Cattle; D003346:Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone / Q000235:genetics*; D006239:Haplotypes; D050356:Lipid Metabolism / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D050151:Subcutaneous Fat / Q000254:growth & development*
D012333:RNA, Messenger; D003346:Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone