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VISFATIN is an adipose cytokine that has been proved to correlate with growth and development traits. In a previous study from our lab, two insertion/deletions (indels; including a 35-bp insertion at its intron 4 and a 6-bp deletion in intron 5) were identified within the VISFATIN gene. To validate these indels and evaluate their association with growth traits in Chinese cattle, a total of 413 samples from four Chinese indigenous breeds and 217 samples from Chinese breeds were detected. Three genotypes (WW, WI and II) at intron 4 were detected based on the 35-bp insertion (allele I) or deletion (allele W) and showed moderate polymorphism in all samples. Two genotypes (WW and WD) at intron 5 were detected based on the 6-bp deletion (allele D) or insertion (allele W) in Xianan (XN) cattle and Jinnan (JN) cattle population but showed poor polymorphisms. Association analysis illustrated that the indel at intron 4 is significantly associated with chest girth, rump length and body weight in Ji'an (JA) cattle and the indel at intron 5 can cause a significant difference in rump length in JN cattle. To our knowledge, it is the first time it has been shown that indels within the VISFATIN gene are associated with growth traits in the two Chinese indigenous cattle breeds. These findings suggest that the VISFATIN gene can be used as a molecular marker for JN and JA cattle breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

FOXO1 (FKHR) gene, as a transcription factor, plays a vital role in animal growth and development, participating in many biological processes. The aim of this study was to ascertain Insertion/deletions (Indels) polymorphism within bovine FoxO1 gene in 679 Chinese adult cows and associate them with stature traits. Two Indels (named as Indel-3 and Indel-4, recorded as rs383545622 and rs525318770 in NCBI, respectively) were successfully genotyped by the Once PCR method, which was reliable, rapid and cost effective for simultaneous detection of two or more Indels. Indel-3 and Indel-4 were located at the second intron. All four different haplotypes (H1: D3D4, H2: I3D4, H3: D3I4, H4: I3I4) could be identified, and the D (del-) allele, DD (del-/del-) genotype and D3D4 haplotype retained the highest frequency. However, individuals with DI (D3I3, D4I4 or H1H4/H2H3 genotype) showed significantly better phenotypic traits than those with the other genotypes in Nanyang cattle, showing a hybrid vigor. The results implied that this DI genotype can be applied to early selective breeding to improve the productivity of Nanyang cattle. Our results suggested that these two Indels within the bovine FoxO1 gene might be used as genetic markers for marker-assisted selection (MAS) in cattle breeding and genetics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copy number variant (CNV), a common genetic polymorphism, is closely related to the phenotypic variation traits of organisms. Vesicle-associated membrane protein 7 gene (VAMP7) codes a protein, which is a member of the SNARE proteins family and plays an important role in the process of intracellular vesicle transport. In this study, a total of four cattle breeds (Yunling cattle, Xianan cattle, Pinan cattle, Jiaxian red cattle) were used to investigate the copy numbers, and we found an association relationship between CNV of VAMP7 gene and growth traits of cattle by SPSS 20.0 software. The results showed that the CNV type of VAMP7 gene in four cattle breeds had the same distribution, Duplication type occupies a dominant position among the four varieties. In Yunling cattle, the Duplication type of VAMP7 is significantly related to the height at the hip cross (p < 0.05), Individuals with Duplication type commonly have less performance on growth and development, which indicates that the Duplication type of the VAMP7 gene may have a negative effect on cattle growth. Individuals with the other two CNV types may become the breeding direction of the VAMP7 gene. This study provided a new perspective and basic material for the molecular genetics of the CNV of the VAMP7 gene, and also promoted the breeding progress of Chinese local cattle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copy number variation (CNV) is a type of genomic structural variation, and the research on it has flourished in recent years. According to the high-throughput sequencing data, we found that the copy number variation region of the GAL3ST1 gene was correlated with the growth traits of bovine. It is significant that we study the CNV of GAL3ST1 gene and process the association analysis between results of Q-PCR and growth traits of Chinese cattle. In this research, SPSS software was used to detect the distribution of GAL3ST1 gene copy number in four cattle breeds and the correlation of growth traits was analyzed. Correlation analysis showed that GAL3ST1 CNV had positive effects on some growth traits of bovine (p < 0.05). In addition, the study detects the expression of GAL3ST1 gene in different tissues of Xia'nan cattles on mRNA level. The result showed that GAL3ST1 gene has different expression conditions in different tissues, results showed that the expression level was high in intestine and low in liver tissue. In a word, we speculated that the GAL3ST1 gene can be used as a molecular marker and this study confirmed that the CNV of it can provide theoretical basis for molecular breeding of cattle in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) include the transition and transversion of a single base. In this study, we found two cSNPs (rs110757796 and rs110652478) in the FABP4 (fatty acid-binding protein 4) gene and tested their population genetic parameters in five Chinese cattle breeds. FABP4 is a key marker molecule for lipid production. It plays a crucial role in the growth and development of animals. Thus, we also analyze the association between the two cSNPs of FABP4 gene and body measurement data of Chinese cattle. Our results were indicated that rs110757796 was significantly associated with the chest width in Chinese cattle groups (p < 0.05). In addition, we tested the spatiotemporal expression profile of the bovine FABP4 gene and effect of genetic variation on its expression. It was found that bovine FABP4 gene has tissue-differential expression. Then, the genetic variation located on the exon has a certain effect on the expression of FABP4 gene in bovine muscle. Overall, our results provide that FABP4 could as a candidate gene to improve the progress of cattle molecular breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

DNA methylation could take part in the gene expression and acts an important role in muscle development. In this study, DNA methylation and expression in adipose and muscle tissues were examined at the same time to evaluate the extent of epigenetic modifications and gene expression on the differentially methylated region (DMR) in SERPINA3. Chain reaction of bisulfite sequencing polymerase (BSP) was used to compared difference among DNA methylation patterns. The result of quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) analysis showed that there was an extensive expression of SERPINA3 gene in tissue and there was a significant difference existing in muscle and adipose between Jiaxian cattle and individual of other breeds with increasing hybridization (p < 0.05). The statistic analyses indicated that DNA methylation patterns had a significant influence to the level of mRNA in tissue of fat and muscle. This study may be an important reference for investigating development of muscle tissue in cattle, and may promote the process of cattle molecular breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copy number variation mainly refers to the copy number change of DNA fragments from 1 to 5 Mb. The deletion, duplication, inversion and ectopic of these fragments are collectively referred to as CNV. Numerous studies have shown that transfer factors play a vital role in regulating the growth and development of the body, for example the pleomorphic adenoma gene (PLAG). However, there is no study of CNV in PLAG1 gene. We qualified copy numbers within PLAG1 gene in 8 cattle breeds (Qinchuan, Qaidamu, Jinjiang, Guangfeng, Ji'an, Jiaxian, Pinan and Xianan cattle) by quantitative PCR, and explored their impacts on CNV of PLAG1 gene and phenotypic traits in Xianan cattle. We defined Deletion into CN = 0, Normal into CN = 1 and Duplication into CN = 2. The results showed that the individual with type of CN = 1 has a significant better effect on heart girth in JA cattle population (p < 0.01); the individual with type of CN = 1 and CN = 0 has a better effect on Rump length in JX cattle population (p < 0.05); the individual with type of CN = 0 has a better effect on cannon bone circumference in XN cattle population (p < 0.05). Association analysis showed that in JA cattle, the number of CN = 2 is great in JA cattle population, and the performance of CN = 2 in heart girth is better than CN = 1; in JX cattle, the rump length of CN = 2 is less than individual with CN = 0 and CN = 1; in XN cattle, individuals with CN = 0 have a better performance on cannon bone circumference than others. The results can provide a theoretical basis for molecular breeding of Chinese cattle, molecular mark-assist selection (MAS) of growth traits of Chinese cattle, and rapidly establish a Chinese cattle population with excellent genetic resources. Simple summary With the living standards rising, people's demand for beef is getting higher and higher, and there is a great significance to improve the growth performance of cattle. We measured body size data and detected copy number type of different cattle breeds (Xianan cattle, Ji'an cattle and Jiaxian cattle), and analyzed the correlation between the two object. We found that copy number variation of PLAG1 gene significantly affected some growth traits of XN cattle, JA cattle, and JX cattle. This may provide the basic material for molecular marker-assisted selection breeding of Chinese cattle breeds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copy number variation (CNV) has been used as an important source of phenotypic and genetic diversity in recent years. Nicastrin (NCSTN) gene is usually attached to human diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, and Acne inversa. However, there are no essays about the NCSTN gene combining with cattle breeds. In our study, we discovered different distributions of NCSTN gene copy number and associated it with phenotypic traits in four Chinese yellow cattle breeds (XN, PN, QC and YL). The result turned out that the CNV of the NCSTN gene was associated with several growth traits, such as cannon circumference, chest girth and rump length (p < 0.05). In general, we revealed the eminence over CNV of NCSTN gene and economic traits, suggesting that the CNV of the NCSTN gene can be considered to be a promising molecular breeding marker of Chinese beef cattle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]