Abstract
Uncoupling protein-1 gene (UCP1) plays an important role in the regulation of thermogenesis, energy expenditure, and protection against oxidative stress. In this study, six separate UCP1 regions: region-1 and region-2 (two parts of the promoter), region-3 and region-4 (two parts of intron 1), region-5 (spanning part of intron 5 and part of exon 6), and region-6 (spanning part of exon 6 and part of the 3′-UTR) from a variety of sheep breeds, were analysed using polymerase chain reaction-single-stranded conformational polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) analyses. In total, 30 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were detected. Of these, 14 were located in the promoter, eight were found in intron 1, six were found in intron 5, and one was found in the 3′-UTR. One substitution in exon 6 (c.910A/G) would putatively result in an amino acid change (p.Thr304Ala). Twenty-eight novel SNPs and nine new haplotypes spanning region-2 to region-5 were identified. Of these nine haplotypes, five were common (B2-A5, C2-A5, C2-C5, A2-A5, and A2-B5) and four were rare (C2-B5, A2-C5, B2-C5, and B2-B5) in the sheep investigated. Of the five common haplotypes found in 314 New Zealand Romney sheep for which growth and carcass trait data were available, the presence of A2-B5 was associated with decreased hot carcass weight (HCW) and loin lean-meat yield (p = 0.006, p = 0.032, respectively), and the presence of C2-C5 was associated with a decreased proportion of leg lean-meat yield (p = 0.047) in the carcasses. No associations were found with growth traits. These results confirm that ovine UCP1 is a variable gene and may have value as a genetic marker for sheep breeding.
Highlights
IntroductionThe uncoupling protein (UCP) family contains at least six members, including Uncoupling protein-1 (UCP1), UCP2, UCP3, UCP4, UCP5 or BMCP1 (brain mitochondrial carrier protein-1), and UCP6 [1,2]
Uncoupling protein-1 (UCP1) is a member of the uncoupling protein (UCP) family and belongs to a super-family of carrier proteins that are typically located in the inner membrane of mitochondria.In mammals, the UCP family contains at least six members, including UCP1, UCP2, UCP3, UCP4, UCP5 or BMCP1, and UCP6 [1,2]
The UCP family contains at least six members, including UCP1, UCP2, UCP3, UCP4, UCP5 or BMCP1, and UCP6 [1,2]
Summary
The UCP family contains at least six members, including UCP1, UCP2, UCP3, UCP4, UCP5 or BMCP1 (brain mitochondrial carrier protein-1), and UCP6 [1,2]. These proteins play pivotal roles in the regulation of thermogenesis, in regulating energy expenditure, and in providing protection against oxidative stress [3,4]. The UCP proteins have similar molecular structures, but varying levels of expression in different tissues, including brown adipose tissue, white adipose tissue, skeletal muscle, thymocytes, and the liver [5,6,7,8]. Among the UCP proteins, UCP1 is predominantly found in brown adipose tissue [9], but recently it has been reported to be found in many other tissues, including white adipose tissue, skeletal muscle, longitudinal smooth muscle layers, thymocytes, and the pancreatic islets [10].
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