A Novel 13 bp Deletion within the NR6A1 Gene Is Significantly Associated with Growth Traits in Donkeys

Abstract

Simple SummaryThe detection of genes potentially associated with economic traits and identification of effective variants can provide a basis for molecular marker-assisted selection of livestock. NR6A1 is a member of the nuclear receptor family and is an important candidate gene related to body size traits. Previous studies showed that NR6A1 gene was associated with body size traits in pigs and other livestock, however, it has not yet been observed in donkeys. In the current study, a 13 bp deletion in NR6A1 gene was firstly identified in donkeys. Analysis showed that this deletion had significant associations with body size traits.AbstractNuclear receptor subfamily 6, group A, member 1 (NR6A1), as an important member of the nuclear receptor family, plays an important role in regulating growth, metabolism, and differentiation of embryonic stem cells. For this reason, the NR6A1 gene is considered to be a promising candidate for economic traits and was found to be associated with body size traits in many livestock. However, no studies have been conducted on NR6A1 in donkeys so far. Thus, in this research, we focused on donkeys and identified a 13 bp deletion in intron-1 of the NR6A1 gene among 408 individuals from Guanzhong and Dezhou donkeys using polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Three genotypes were identified, namely II, ID, and DD. The association analysis indicated that the body lengths and body heights5f genotype II individuals were significantly different to those of genotype ID in Dezhou donkeys. Conclusively, the 13 bp deletion was associated with growth traits in both Guanzhong donkeys and Dezhou donkeys, indicating that the NR6A1 gene could be a possible candidate gene in marker-assisted selection for donkey breeding programs.

Multi-Thoracolumbar Variations and NR6A1 Gene Polymorphisms Potentially Associated with Body Size and Carcass Traits of Dezhou Donkey

“…As a first-class candidate gene, NR6A1 has been studied in several animals and association with the vertebrae number has been proved. Fang et al detected a 13 bp Indel in the intron 1 of the Dezhou donkey NR6A1 gene, and found it was significantly associated with growth traits [ 35 ]. Zhang et al [ 12 ] found that there was a significant association between SNV (rs414302710: A > C) in the exon-8 of NR6A1 gene with the number of lumber vertebrae in sheep ( p < 0.01).…”

Two Novel SNPs in RET Gene Are Associated with Cattle Body Measurement Traits

“…Marker-assisted selection (MAS) has been widely used in breeding. The application of DNA markers for improving growth traits through MAS is a more efficient and powerful tool than the traditional method [18,19]. Therefore, this study aimed to reveal the significant genetic variations in the bovine RET gene and investigate the relationship between genotypes and body measurement in two Chinese cattle breeds, Qinchuan cattle (QC) and Nanyang cattle (NY).…”

Expression profiles and polymorphic identification of the &lt;i&gt;ACSL1&lt;/i&gt; gene and their association with body size traits in Dezhou donkeys

“…By combining haplotype combinations with single locus effects, the effects of genetic variation can be more easily demonstrated (Gui et al, 2015). It can be seen from Tables 4 and 5 that the results of haplotype combination analysis and unit point analysis of the mutation site of the ACSL1 gene are consistent.…”