Abstract
Smoothened (Smo)-mediated Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway governs the patterning, morphogenesis and growth of many different regions within animal body plans. This study evaluated the effects of genetic variations of the bovine SMO gene on economically important body size traits in Chinese Qinchuan cattle. Altogether, eight single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs: 1–8) were identified and genotyped via direct sequencing covering most of the coding region and 3ʹUTR of the bovine SMO gene. Both the p.698Ser.>Ser. synonymous mutation resulted from SNP1 and the p.700Ser.>Pro. non-synonymous mutation caused by SNP2 mapped to the intracellular C-terminal tail of bovine Smo protein; the other six SNPs were non-coding variants located in the 3ʹUTR. The linkage disequilibrium was analyzed, and five haplotypes were discovered in 520 Qinchuan cattle. Association analyses showed that SNP2, SNP3/5, SNP4 and SNP6/7 were significantly associated with some body size traits (p < 0.05) except SNP1/8 (p > 0.05). Meanwhile, cattle with wild-type combined haplotype Hap1/Hap1 had significantly (p < 0.05) greater body length than those with Hap2/Hap2. Our results indicate that variations in the SMO gene could affect body size traits of Qinchuan cattle, and the wild-type haplotype Hap1 together with the wild-type alleles of these detected SNPs in the SMO gene could be used to breed cattle with superior body size traits. Therefore, our results could be helpful for marker-assisted selection in beef cattle breeding programs.
Highlights
Smoothened (Smo)-mediated Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway is a critical regulator of cell growth and patterning during embryonic development, and is involved in stem cell renewal and tissue homeostasis in adult animals [1,2,3]
SMO gene maps to bovine chromosome 4, consists of 12 exons divided by 11 introns and 3ʹUTR, and encodes 780 amino acids
Studies in mice and zebrafish have demonstrated that SMO contributes to osteogenesis and myogenesis, influencing the development and growth of bone and muscle [10,11,12,13,14]. These findings suggest that the SMO gene, as one mediating Hh signaling, could be a potential candidate gene related to animal body size traits
Summary
Smoothened (Smo)-mediated Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway is a critical regulator of cell growth and patterning during embryonic development, and is involved in stem cell renewal and tissue homeostasis in adult animals [1,2,3]. A recent study reported that the fine coordination of Smo activity by the miR-30 family controlled the specification and differentiation of distinct muscle cell types of zebrafish embryos [14]. These findings confirm SMO contributes to the development and growth of bone and muscle, suggesting that SMO is an attractive candidate gene for the selection of growth-related traits in livestock. Based on its role in osteogenesis and myogenesis as demonstrated in mice and zebrafish, we proposed the hypothesis that variations of the SMO gene affected body size traits in cattle. Our results are potentially beneficial for further research in enhancing the economic traits of beef cattle
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