Abstract
Simple SummaryThe gene that encodes myostatin influences more than one trait, and its expression has been observed in skeletal muscle, as well as the mammary gland. In this study, association analysis revealed that variation in the bovine myostatin gene affects milk fatty acid composition, raising the possibility that this genetic variation may be utilized to increase the amount of unsaturated fatty acid and decrease the amount of saturated fatty acid in milk.The myostatin gene (MSTN), which encodes the protein myostatin, is pleiotropic, and its expression has been associated with both increased and decreased adipogenesis and increased skeletal muscle mass in animals. In this study, the polymerase chain reaction, coupled with single strand conformation polymorphism analysis, was utilized to reveal nucleotide sequence variation in bovine MSTN in 410 New Zealand (NZ) Holstein-Friesian × Jersey (HF × J)-cross cows. These cows ranged from 3 to 9 years of age and over the time studied, produced an average 22.53 ± 2.18 L of milk per day, with an average milk fat content of 4.94 ± 0.17% and average milk protein content of 4.03 ± 0.10%. Analysis of a 406-bp amplicon from the intron 1 region, revealed five nucleotide sequence variants (A–E) that contained seven nucleotide substitutions. Using general linear mixed-effect model analyses the AD genotype was associated with reduced C10:0, C12:0, and C12:1 levels when compared to levels in cows with the AA genotype. These associations in NZ HF × J cross cows are novel, and they suggest that this variation in bovine MSTN could be explored for increasing the amount of milk unsaturated fatty acid and decreasing the amount of saturated fatty acid.
Highlights
Improving the efficiency of cattle production systems can be achieved by selecting for fast growing animals with increased muscling that have desirable maternal reproductive traits, good milk production, and good mothering ability
For genotypes with a frequency greater than 5%, the effect of variation in a cow’s MSTN genotype on gross milk production traits, and the component levels of individual and grouped fatty acid (FA) was tested using general linear mixed-effects models (GLMMs) and multiple pair-wise comparisons with Bonferroni corrections
Over the time the cows were studied, they produced an average of 22.53 ± 2.18 L of milk per day, with an average milk fat content of 4.94 ± 0.17% and average milk protein content of 4.03 ± 0.10%
Summary
Improving the efficiency of cattle production systems can be achieved by selecting for fast growing animals with increased muscling that have desirable maternal reproductive traits, good milk production, and good mothering ability. It is important to have an understanding of the genes that underpin muscularity and adiposity. Sequence variation in MSTN has been associated with increases in growth and muscling traits in several species. In cattle it has been connected with having increased numbers of muscle fibers (otherwise known as “double-muscling”) in a number of breeds [4]. Sequence variation in the first intron has been found to influence growth and carcass traits such as the yield of leg, loin, and total lean meat in NZ Romney sheep [5]
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