Genetic Diversity Identification and Haplotype Distribution of Myostatin Gene in Goats

Abstract

Background: Myostatin (MSTN) is a highly conserved protein that acts as a negative regulator of skeletal muscle growth. MSTN gene is closely associated with multiple biological functions and its mutations are directly linked to muscle development in different species. Loss of MSTN functionality causes the phenotype to appear in the form of ‘double musculature’, among others in cattle, sheep and house mice.Methods: The mixed DNA pool of Boer and Dazu black goats to sequence MSTN coding and noncoding regions. Snapshot typing technology was used to analyse three goat production types, namely, Boer (meat goats), Nubian (breast and meat dual-use goat), Dazu black (local breeds) and Youzhou black goats (local breeds). Polymorphic loci in MSTN were used from four goat populations to construct haplotypes and calculate haplotype frequency distribution through NETWORK and MEGA to construct a phylogenetic tree and visualize phylogenetic relationship.Result: From these populations, 18 haplotypes were constructed using 20 polymorphic loci. Phylogenetic analysis revealed a significant difference in the haplotype distribution of MSTN in different goat production types. The 18 haplotypes were divided into two clusters. The haplotypes carried by the Boer goat belonged to Cluster I and those carried by the Nubian goat and two local goat breeds belonged to both clusters. Chinese local goats and complex production goats carried more haplotypes of MSTN and had a richer genetic diversity than other production types did. Moreover, local and complex production goats had high-frequency haplotypes of the MSTN of meat goats and had high potential for breeding.