title: Sequence variants ofBIEC2-808543nearLCORLare associated with body composition in Thoroughbreds under training.
abstract: Ligand-dependent nuclear receptor compressor-like (LCORL) encodes a transcription factor, and its polymorphisms are associated with measures of skeletal frame size and adult height in several species. Recently, the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) BIEC2-808543 located upstream of LCORL was identified as a genetic diagnostic marker associated with withers height in Thoroughbreds. In this study, 322 Thoroughbreds-in-training were genotyped for BIEC2-808543 to evaluate the association between genotype and body composition traits, including body weight, withers height, the ratio of body weight to withers height, chest circumference, and cannon circumference. Of these, withers height and cannon circumference were significantly associated with LCORL genotypes throughout almost the entire training period in males and females. Animals with a C/T genotype had higher withers height (maximum differences of 1.8 cm and 2.1 cm in males and females, respectively) and cannon circumstance (maximum differences of 0.65 cm and 0.48 cm in males and females, respectively) compared with animals with a T/T genotype. These results suggested that the regulation of LCORL expression influences the skeletal frame size in Thoroughbreds and thus, indirectly affects the body weight. Although LCORL and BIEC2-808543 would be useful for selective breeding in Thoroughbreds, the production of genetically modified animals and gene doping based on genetic information should be prohibited in order to maintain racing integrity.
authors.affiliation: Genetic Analysis Department, Laboratory of Racing Chemistry, Tochigi 320-0851, Japan.
authors.forename: Teruaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tozaki
authors.affiliation: Hidaka Training and Research Center, Japan Racing Association, Hokkaido 057-0171, Japan.
authors.forename: Fumio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.affiliation: Hidaka Training and Research Center, Japan Racing Association, Hokkaido 057-0171, Japan.
authors.forename: Mutsuki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ishimaru
authors.affiliation: Genetic Analysis Department, Laboratory of Racing Chemistry, Tochigi 320-0851, Japan.
authors.forename: Mio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kikuchi
authors.affiliation: Genetic Analysis Department, Laboratory of Racing Chemistry, Tochigi 320-0851, Japan.
authors.forename: Hironaga
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kakoi
authors.affiliation: Genetic Analysis Department, Laboratory of Racing Chemistry, Tochigi 320-0851, Japan.
authors.forename: Kei-Ichi
authors.initials: KI
authors.lastname: Hirota
authors.affiliation: Genetic Analysis Department, Laboratory of Racing Chemistry, Tochigi 320-0851, Japan.
authors.forename: Shun-Ichi
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Nagata
keywords: BIEC2-808543; LCORL; Thoroughbred; cannon circumstance; withers height