title: Association of the leptin gene with carcass characteristics in Nellore cattle.
abstract: Advances in DNA technology have created biotechnological tools that can be used in animal selection and new strategies for increasing herd productivity and quality. The objective of the present work was to associate the genotypes of leptin gene exon 2 polymorphisms with productive traits in Nellore cattle. Blood was collected from Nellore males and PCR-RFLP reactions were performed with the restriction enzymes Cla I and Kpn 2I. The gene frequencies resulting from digestion by Cla I were 0.60 and 0.40 for allele A and T, respectively; the genotypic frequencies were AA = 0.20 and AT = 0.80. The gene frequencies from digestion by Kpn 2I were 0.81 for allele C and 0.194 for allele T; the genotypic frequencies were CC = 0.62 and CT = 0.38. The populations in both cases were not in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (p > 0.05), and the TT genotype was not found. Significant associations were noted between leptin gene exon 2 polymorphisms and five productive traits in Nellore cattle: carcass fat distribution, the intensity of red muscle coloration, pH, marbling, and post-slaughter fat thickness.
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Ciências Biológicas e Ambientais, Universidade Federal da Grande Dourados, Dourados - MS, Brasil. joyce_azambuja@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Joyce Azambuja
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: de Oliveira
authors.forename: Camila Magalhães
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: da Cunha
authors.forename: Bruno do Amaral
authors.initials: Bdo A
authors.lastname: Crispim
authors.forename: Leonardo de Oliveira
authors.initials: Lde O
authors.lastname: Seno
authors.forename: Alexandre Rodrigo Mendes
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Fernandes
authors.forename: Guilherme de Paula
authors.initials: Gde P
authors.lastname: Nogueira
authors.forename: Alexéia Barufatti
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Grisolia
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D001823:Body Composition / Q000235:genetics*; D001835:Body Weight / Q000235:genetics*; D001938:Brazil; D002417:Cattle / Q000235:genetics*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D004587:Electrophoresis, Agar Gel; D020738:Leptin / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics*; D008460:Meat / Q000592:standards*; D010641:Phenotype; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length
chemical_list: D020738:Leptin