Insertion/deletion variants within the IGF2BP2 gene identified in reported genome-wide selective sweep analysis reveal a correlation with goat litter size

Abstract

Insulin-like growth factor 2 mRNA-binding protein 2 (IGF2BP2, also called IMP2) plays an essential role in the development and maturation of germ cells and embryos and is a candidate gene for goat litter size, based on a previous genomewide selective sweep analysis. In this study, the mRNA expression level of IGF2BP2 was found to be significantly higher in a single-lamb group than in a multi-lamb group. Insertions/deletions (indels) within the goat IGF2BP2 gene, including P4-Ins-13bp and P5-Del-12bp, were verified in 918 Shaanbei White Cashmere (SBWC) female goats. The minor allelic frequencies (MAFs) of P4-Ins-13bp and P5-Del-12bp loci were 0.349 and 0.295, respectively. Analysis using the Chi-square (χ 2 ) test showed that the genotype (χ 2 =14.479, P=0.006) distribution of P4-Ins-13bp was significantly different between the single-lamb and multi-lamb groups. Correlation analysis demonstrated that P4-Ins-13bp was significantly associated with goat litter size (P= 0.022), and individual goats with the homozygous deletion/deletion (DD) genotype produced more litters than other goats. Therefore, considered as a potential molecular marker significantly related to lambing traits, the P4-Ins-13bp mutation of the goat IGF2BP2 gene can be used in goat breeding with practical molecular marker-assisted selection (MAS) to optimize female reproduction and improve economic efficiency in the goat industry.

Relationships between the Mini-InDel Variants within the Goat CFAP43 Gene and Body Traits

“…Second, InDel variants in CFAP43 affect litter size. Correlations between litter size and body traits have been reported in goats [ 21 ], and genes have been found to affect both litter size and growth, in many cases: for example, IGF2-BP2 (insulin-like growth factor 2 mRNA-binding protein 2) plays a key role in the development of diabetes and animal growth and is also a candidate gene for litter size in goats [ 34 ]. Mistranslation mutations in the POU1F1 gene affect litter size and body traits in SBWC goats [ 35 ].…”

Transcription factor PRDM15 binds to the promoter mutation locus of PPP2R5C promoted proliferation of goat granulosa cells

“…Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) is a base change in a single nucleotide DNA sequence at a given position due to a translation error or mutation (Hedrick 2011). The pure DD genotype at the P4-Ins-13bp locus of IMP2 (inner mitochondrial membrane peptidase subunit 2) was found to produce more kidding number than the other genotypes in Shaanbei velvet goats (Xin et al 2021). In the Italian goat breed, 64 SNPs related to growth, circadian rhythm and reproduction were identi ed by genomics, providing a reference for the conservation of local goat breed diversity (Cortellari et al 2021).…”

Genome-wide association analysis of nine reproduction and morphological traits in three goat breeds from Southern China

“…The CSN3 gene, which encodes a major milk protein known as kappa-casein, plays a vital role in protein synthesis and stability of casein micelle [22]. Another study suggests this gene is an essential putative candidate gene for milkproducing traits in different dairy cows [23] and goat breeds [24,2518] The above research results demonstrated various efforts for identifying the causal genes responsible for litter size in goats, but the results vary among breeds. These inconsistent findings might suggest that the complex genetic mechanisms are underpinned the litter size variation.…”