title: Back fat thickness and meat  tenderness are associated with a 526 T→A mutation in the exon 1 promoter region  of the MyF-5 gene  in Chinese Bos taurus.
abstract: Qualitative  trait loci (QTL) for growth and meat quality traits in cattle (Bos taurus)  have been previously mapped to three chromosome regions, 0 to 30, 55 to 70, and  70 to 80 cM on chromosome 5. We evaluated the allele frequencies and  gene-specific single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of bovine myogenic factor  5 (MyF-5) in the QTL regions and their associations with live weight and meat  characteristics in indigenous Chinese cattle breeds. PCR-SSCP methodology  showed a T>A mutation at 526 bp. Least square analysis revealed a  significant association of this SNP with backfat thickness and meat tenderness  (P < 0.05), while no significant association was found with live weight,  loin eye height, loin eye area, rib area, or water holding capacity. Allele  frequencies of MyF-5-A/B in the five breeds were 0.760/0.239, 0.752/0.247,  0.629/0.370, 0.715/0.284, and 0.750/0.250, for JiaXian red, Luxi, Nanyang,  Qinchuan, and XiaNan crossbreed, respectively. The genotype distributions for  these alleles in two of the Chinese cattle breeds (Luxi and Qinchuan) were not  in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (P < 0.05); while those for the other three  breeds (JiaXian red, Nanyang, and XiaNan) were in agreement with Hardy-Weinberg  equilibrium (P > 0.05). The genotypic frequencies among all five cattle  breeds showed moderate diversity (0.25 < polymorphism information content  < 0.5). Based on our findings, we suggest that the MyF-5 gene influences  back fat thickness and meat tenderness in Chinese Bos taurus. This SNP  could be useful for marker-assisted selection for meat quality traits in these  cattle.
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A & F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, PR China.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Ujan
authors.forename: L S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Zan
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Ujan
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Adoligbe
authors.forename: H B
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001823:Body Composition / Q000235:genetics*; D001947:Breeding; D002417:Cattle / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000235:genetics; D002681:China; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D033481:Chromosomes, Mammalian / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D056726:Genetic Association Studies; D056426:Genetic Loci; D005838:Genotype; D008297:Male; D008460:Meat; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000737:chemistry*; D009154:Mutation; D051787:Myogenic Regulatory Factor 5 / Q000235:genetics*; D010641:Phenotype; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D019655:Quantitative Trait, Heritable; D050151:Subcutaneous Fat / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D051787:Myogenic Regulatory Factor 5