title: Polymorphisms in the delta-like 2 homolog gene and their association with growth and meat-quality traits in Qinchuan cattle.
abstract: The delta-like 2 homolog (DLK2) modulates adipogenesis, hematopoiesis, osteogenesis, and other cell-differentiation processes. In the present study, we detected potential polymorphisms in the DLK2 gene in 604 individuals of Qinchuan cattle by using PCR-RFLP and DNA-sequencing methods. Herein, we identified five novel single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (g.888G>A, g.910A>G, g.995G>A, g.4321A>G, g.4850A>G) and analyzed their association with measured traits. Four of the five analyzed polymorphisms were associated with at least one of the following traits: body weight (BW), chest depth (CD), chest circumference (CC), back fat thickness (BT), and rib-eye area (REA). To the best of our knowledge, our research is the first to report the association of DLK2 gene polymorphisms with growth and meat quality traits in Qinchuan cattle. In summary, the results of our study suggest that the DLK2 gene can be used as a candidate gene in beef cattle breeding.
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China zanlinsen@163.com.
authors.forename: L S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Zan
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China.
authors.forename: Y K
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China.
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China.
authors.forename: X H
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China.
authors.forename: C Z
authors.initials: CZ
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Adoligbe
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D005260:Female; D056726:Genetic Association Studies; D005828:Genetics, Population; D005838:Genotype; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D015810:Linkage Disequilibrium; D008460:Meat / Q000592:standards*; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D019655:Quantitative Trait, Heritable; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins