title: Identification of Polymorphisms in the Rabbit Growth Hormone Receptor (GHR) Gene and Association with Finishing Weight in a Commercial Meat Rabbit Line.
abstract: A shortcut to identify DNA markers associated with economic traits is to use a candidate gene approach that is still useful in livestock species in which molecular tools and resources are not advanced or not well developed. Mutations in the growth hormone receptor (GHR) gene associated with production traits have been already described in several livestock species. For this reason GHR could be an interesting candidate gene in the rabbit. In this study we re-sequenced all exons and non-coding regions of the rabbit GHR gene in a panel of 10 different rabbits and identified 10 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). One of them (g.63453192C>G or c.106C>G), located in exon 3 was a missense mutation (p.L36V) substituting an amino acid in a highly conserved position across all mammals. This mutation was genotyped in 297 performance tested rabbits of a meat male line and association analysis showed that the investigated SNP was associated with weight at 70 days (P < 0.05). The most frequent genotype (GG) was in animals with higher weight at this age, suggesting that the high directional selection pressure toward this trait since the constitution of the genotyped line might have contributed to shape allele frequencies at this polymorphic site.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Division of Animal Sciences , University of Bologna , Bologna , Italy.
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fontanesi
authors.affiliation: a Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Division of Animal Sciences , University of Bologna , Bologna , Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sparacino
authors.affiliation: a Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Division of Animal Sciences , University of Bologna , Bologna , Italy.
authors.forename: Valerio Joe
authors.initials: VJ
authors.lastname: Utzeri
authors.affiliation: a Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Division of Animal Sciences , University of Bologna , Bologna , Italy.
authors.forename: Emilio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Scotti
authors.affiliation: b Gruppo Martini S.P.A. , Centro Genetica Conigli (Rabbit Genetic Center) , Longiano , Italy.
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fornasini
authors.affiliation: a Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Division of Animal Sciences , University of Bologna , Bologna , Italy.
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dall'Olio
authors.affiliation: b Gruppo Martini S.P.A. , Centro Genetica Conigli (Rabbit Genetic Center) , Longiano , Italy.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Frabetti
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D056726:Genetic Association Studies; D008297:Male; D008460:Meat / Q000592:standards*; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide / Q000235:genetics*; D011817:Rabbits; D011986:Receptors, Somatotropin / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D016415:Sequence Alignment
chemical_list: D011986:Receptors, Somatotropin
keywords: Association study; candidate gene approach; meat production; missense mutation; oryctolagus cuniculus