title: Molecular Characterization of Bovine SMO Gene and Effects of Its Genetic Variations on Body Size Traits in Qinchuan Cattle (Bos taurus).
abstract: Smoothened (Smo)-mediated Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway governs the patterning, morphogenesis and growth of many different regions within animal body plans. This study evaluated the effects of genetic variations of the bovine SMO gene on economically important body size traits in Chinese Qinchuan cattle. Altogether, eight single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs: 1-8) were identified and genotyped via direct sequencing covering most of the coding region and 3'UTR of the bovine SMO gene. Both the p.698Ser.>Ser. synonymous mutation resulted from SNP1 and the p.700Ser.>Pro. non-synonymous mutation caused by SNP2 mapped to the intracellular C-terminal tail of bovine Smo protein; the other six SNPs were non-coding variants located in the 3'UTR. The linkage disequilibrium was analyzed, and five haplotypes were discovered in 520 Qinchuan cattle. Association analyses showed that SNP2, SNP3/5, SNP4 and SNP6/7 were significantly associated with some body size traits (p < 0.05) except SNP1/8 (p > 0.05). Meanwhile, cattle with wild-type combined haplotype Hap1/Hap1 had significantly (p < 0.05) greater body length than those with Hap2/Hap2. Our results indicate that variations in the SMO gene could affect body size traits of Qinchuan cattle, and the wild-type haplotype Hap1 together with the wild-type alleles of these detected SNPs in the SMO gene could be used to breed cattle with superior body size traits. Therefore, our results could be helpful for marker-assisted selection in beef cattle breeding programs.
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China. zyy686868@163.com.
authors.forename: Ya-Ran
authors.initials: YR
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China. guilinsheng1234@163.com.
authors.forename: Lin-Sheng
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Gui
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China. liyaokun1986@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Yao-Kun
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China. jiangbijie1001@163.com.
authors.forename: Bi-Jie
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China. besthongcheng@163.com.
authors.forename: Hong-Cheng
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China. zyy686868@163.com.
authors.forename: Ying-Ying
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China. zanlinsen@163.com.|National Beef Cattle Improvement Center of Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China. zanlinsen@163.com.
authors.forename: Lin-Sen
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Zan
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D049628:Body Size / Q000235:genetics*; D002417:Cattle / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000235:genetics*; D005787:Gene Frequency / Q000235:genetics; D056426:Genetic Loci; D005819:Genetic Markers; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006239:Haplotypes / Q000235:genetics; D015810:Linkage Disequilibrium / Q000235:genetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide / Q000235:genetics; D019655:Quantitative Trait, Heritable; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled / Q000235:genetics*; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid
chemical_list: D005819:Genetic Markers; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled
keywords: Qinchuan cattle; SMO gene; body size traits; molecular characterization