title: Identification of the Ovine Keratin-Associated Protein 22-1 (KAP22-1) Gene and Its Effect on Wool Traits.
abstract: Keratin-associated proteins (KAPs) are structural components of wool and hair fibers. To date, eight high glycine/tyrosine KAP (HGT-KAP) families have been identified in humans, but only three have been identified in sheep. In this study, the putative ovine homolog of the human KAP22-1 gene (KRTAP22-1) was amplified using primers designed based on a humanKRTAP22-1sequence. Polymerase chain reaction-single stranded conformational polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) was used to screen for variation inKRTAP22-1in 390 Merino × Southdown-cross lambs and 75 New Zealand (NZ) Romney sheep. Three PCR-SSCP banding patterns were detected and DNA sequencing revealed that the banding patterns represented three different nucleotide sequences (A-C). Two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified in these sequences. VariantBwas most common with a frequency of 81.3% in NZ Romney sheep, while in the Merino × Southdown-cross lambs,Awas more common with a frequency of 51.8%. The presence ofBwas found to be associated with increased wool yield and decreased mean fiber curvature (MFC). Sheep of genotypeBBorABhad a higher wool yield than those of genotypeAA. These results suggest that ovineKRTAP22-1variation may be useful when developing breeding programs based on increasing wool yield, or decreasing wool curvature.
authors.affiliation: Gansu Key Laboratory of Herbivorous Animal Biotechnology, Faculty of Animal Science and Technology, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China. lisb2008@hotmail.com.|International Wool Research Institute, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China. lisb2008@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Shaobin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Gansu Key Laboratory of Herbivorous Animal Biotechnology, Faculty of Animal Science and Technology, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China. Zhou@lincoln.ac.nz.|International Wool Research Institute, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China. Zhou@lincoln.ac.nz.|Gene-marker Laboratory, Faculty of Agricultural and Life Sciences, Lincoln University, Lincoln 7647, New Zealand. Zhou@lincoln.ac.nz.
authors.forename: Huitong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: International Wool Research Institute, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China. Hua.Gong@lincolnuni.ac.nz.|Gene-marker Laboratory, Faculty of Agricultural and Life Sciences, Lincoln University, Lincoln 7647, New Zealand. Hua.Gong@lincolnuni.ac.nz.
authors.forename: Hua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.affiliation: Gansu Key Laboratory of Herbivorous Animal Biotechnology, Faculty of Animal Science and Technology, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China. zhaoFangfang@gsau.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Fangfang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Gansu Key Laboratory of Herbivorous Animal Biotechnology, Faculty of Animal Science and Technology, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China. wangjq@gsau.edu.cn.|International Wool Research Institute, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China. wangjq@gsau.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Jiqing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Gansu Key Laboratory of Herbivorous Animal Biotechnology, Faculty of Animal Science and Technology, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China. liuxiu@gsau.edu.cn.|International Wool Research Institute, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China. liuxiu@gsau.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Xiu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Gansu Key Laboratory of Herbivorous Animal Biotechnology, Faculty of Animal Science and Technology, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China. luoyz@gsau.edu.cn.|International Wool Research Institute, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China. luoyz@gsau.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Yuzhu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: International Wool Research Institute, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China. Jon.hickford@lincoln.ac.nz.|Gene-marker Laboratory, Faculty of Agricultural and Life Sciences, Lincoln University, Lincoln 7647, New Zealand. Jon.hickford@lincoln.ac.nz.
authors.forename: Jon G H
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Hickford
keywords: Keratin-associated protein KAP22-1; mean fiber curvature (MFC); sheep; variation; wool yield