Expression profiles of the MXD3 gene and association of sequence variants with growth traits in Xianan and Qinchuan cattle.

Dan Hao,Bo Thomsen,Jiangsong Bai,Hong Chen,Shujun Peng,Xianyong Lan,Yongzhen Huang,Xiao Wang

doi:10.1002/vms3.251

Abstract

Max dimerization protein 3 (MXD3) belongs to the MYC superfamily of basic helix‐loop‐helix leucine zipper transcription factors, and MXD3‐MAX heterodimers can bind to promoters of target genes to modulate their expression. The aim of this study was to determine the MXD3 mRNA expression levels in various cattle tissues comprising heart, liver, spleen, lung, kidney, Longissimus dorsi muscle and subcutaneous fat in Chinese Qinchuan and Xianan cattle breeds. The RT‐qPCR data showed that the MXD3 gene was variably expressed between all tissues and at levels that were significantly different between two breeds (p < .05). We used the polymerase chain reaction‐restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR‐RFLP) method to investigate the possible association between single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) within the MXD3 gene and five different growth traits in cattle. We found two intronic SNPs (g.2694 C>T and g.3801 T>C) and one SNP in 3′untranslated region (3′UTR) (g.6263 G>A) of MXD3 gene. Association analysis revealed strong associations between pairwise and triple SNP combinations and the growth traits. Based on these results, we suggest that MXD3 polymorphisms could be useful as molecular markers in the Chinese beef cattle breeding program.

Highlights

The application of molecular genetics in animal husbandry has many important advantages (Khodabakhshzadeh et al, 2016; Zamani, Akhondi, & Mohammadabadi, 2015)
We suggest that Max dimerization protein 3 (MXD3) polymorphisms could be useful as molecular markers in the Chinese beef cattle breeding program
In the candidate gene approach, the process of identifying such genes responsible for a polygenic trait variation includes the selection of candidate genes based on the relationship between physiological or biochemical processes involved in the expression of the phenotype, and subsequent testing of the selected genes as putative quantitative trait loci (QTL) (Mousavizadeh et al, 2009; Ruzina et al, 2010)

Summary

| INTRODUCTION

The application of molecular genetics in animal husbandry has many important advantages (Khodabakhshzadeh et al, 2016; Zamani, Akhondi, & Mohammadabadi, 2015) One such significant advantage is the genotyping of individuals for specific genetic loci known to be associated with phenotypic traits of relevance to cattle farming and breeding (Khodabakhshzadeh et al, 2016; Mohammadreza Esfandyarpoo, & Mousapour, 2017). Economical and biological efficiency of production enterprises generally improves by increasing productivity and reproductive performance of animals (Mohammadabadi & Sattayimokhtari, 2013; Taghi Vajed Ebrahimi, Mohammadabadi, & Esmailizadeh, 2017; Zamani et al, 2015) Growth phenotypes such as body weight and size of cattle are often used as selection criteria because of their association with meat production (Buzanskas et al, 2014). | 3 expression profiles of MXD3 in seven tissues under the best normalized reference genes in cattle, which may improve the understanding of the molecular basis and the application of MAS for beef cattle breeding in China

| MATERIALS AND METHODS

Findings

| DISCUSSION