Abstract
BackgroundConsumers are becoming increasingly conscientious about the nutritional value of their food. Consumption of some fatty acids has been associated with human health traits such as blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. Therefore, it is important to investigate genetic variation in content of fatty acids present in meat. Previously publications reported regions of the cattle genome that are additively associated with variation in fatty acid content. This study evaluated epistatic interactions, which could account for additional genetic variation in fatty acid content.ResultsEpistatic interactions for 44 fatty acid traits in a population of Angus beef cattle were evaluated with EpiSNPmpi. False discovery rate (FDR) was controlled at 5 % and was limited to well-represented genotypic combinations. Epistatic interactions were detected for 37 triacylglyceride (TAG), 36 phospholipid (PL) fatty acid traits, and three weight traits. A total of 6,181, 7,168, and 0 significant epistatic interactions (FDR < 0.05, 50-animals per genotype combination) were associated with Triacylglyceride fatty acids, Phospholipid fatty acids, and weight traits respectively and most were additive-by-additive interactions. A large number of interactions occurred in potential regions of regulatory control along the chromosomes where genes related to fatty acid metabolism reside.ConclusionsMany fatty acids were associated with epistatic interactions. Despite a large number of significant interactions, there are a limited number of genomic locations that harbored these interactions. While larger population sizes are needed to accurately validate and quantify these epistatic interactions, the current findings point towards additional genetic variance that can be accounted for within these fatty acid traits.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12864-016-3235-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Consumers are becoming increasingly conscientious about the nutritional value of their food
This study aimed to identify the extent to which epistatic interactions could account for additional genetic variation in fatty acid composition of beef
The filter were used to determine if increasing genotype combination frequency impacted the number of significant results identified, which may indicate that low frequency genotype combinations were responsible for the generation of spurious significance
Summary
Consumers are becoming increasingly conscientious about the nutritional value of their food. Consumption of some fatty acids has been associated with human health traits such as blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. It is important to investigate genetic variation in content of fatty acids present in meat. Publications reported regions of the cattle genome that are additively associated with variation in fatty acid content. This study evaluated epistatic interactions, which could account for additional genetic variation in fatty acid content. Health consciousness amongst consumers has grown as more information and misinformation is publicized about the effects of food components, e.g., fatty acids, on human health. Kramer et al BMC Genomics (2016)7:89 interactions may lead to further understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying variation in fatty acid content. This study aimed to identify the extent to which epistatic interactions could account for additional genetic variation in fatty acid composition of beef
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
