title: FTO gene variants are associated with growth and carcass traits in cattle.
abstract: An important aim in animal breeding is the improvement of growth and meat quality traits. Previous studies have demonstrated that genetic variants in the fat mass and obesity associated (FTO) gene have a relatively large effect on human obesity as well as on body composition in rodents and, more recently, in livestock. Here, we examined the effects of the FTO gene variants on growth and carcass traits in the Slovenian population of Simmental (SS) and Brown (SB) cattle. To validate and identify new polymorphisms, we used sequencing, PCR-RFLP analysis and TaqMan assays in the SS breed and FTO gene variants data from the Illumina BovineSNP50 v1 array for the SB breed. Sequencing of the eight samples of progeny-tested SS sires detected 108 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the bovine FTO gene. Statistical analyses between growth and carcass traits and 34 FTO polymorphisms revealed significant association of FTO variants with lean meat percentage in both breeds. Additionally, FTO SNPs analyzed in SS cattle were associated with fat percentage, bone weight and live weight at slaughter. The FTO gene can thus be regarded as a candidate gene for the marker-assisted selection programs in our and possibly other populations of cattle. Future studies in cattle might reveal novel roles for the FTO gene in shaping carcass traits in livestock species as well as body composition control in other mammals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Groblje 3, 1230 Domžale, Slovenia.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Jevsinek Skok
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Groblje 3, 1230 Domžale, Slovenia.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kunej
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Groblje 3, 1230 Domžale, Slovenia.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kovac
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Groblje 3, 1230 Domžale, Slovenia.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Malovrh
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Groblje 3, 1230 Domžale, Slovenia.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Potocnik
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Groblje 3, 1230 Domžale, Slovenia.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Petric
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Groblje 3, 1230 Domžale, Slovenia.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zgur
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Groblje 3, 1230 Domžale, Slovenia.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dovc
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Groblje 3, 1230 Domžale, Slovenia.|National Institute of Chemistry, Hajdrihova 19, 1001 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Horvat
mesh_terms: D050154:Adiposity / Q000235:genetics*; D000818:Animals; D001947:Breeding; D002417:Cattle / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D056726:Genetic Association Studies; D008460:Meat; D010641:Phenotype; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017524:Slovenia
keywords: QTL; fat mass and obesity associated; haplotype; single nucleotide polymorphism; single nucleotide polymorphism array