The polymorphisms of MyoD1 gene in Manych Merino sheep and its influence on body conformation traits

Abstract

Candidate genes associated with meat productivity often affect the performance of myostatin and muscle development in general. The MyoD1 gene is a member of the myogenic regulatory factor (MRF) family and plays a key role in the differentiation of skeletal muscle cells in vertebrates. We investigated the structure of the MyoD1 gene. The effect of polymorphisms on meat production was studied in the Russian sheep breed Manych Merino. To detect alleles, we used NimbleGen sequencing technology (Roche, USA). In the Manych Merino breed, we found 14 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with substitutions, all in the second exon, namely, c.244C>T, c.246G>T, c.253G>T, c.259G>C, c.261C>T, c.269C>G, c.274C>A, c.276C>G, c.277C>A, c.279C>T, c.281C>A, c.287C>A, c.325T>C, and c.483C>T. All of these SNPs, except from c.325T>C, were detected here for the first time. The Manych Merino breed had 13 substitutions that were present as homozygous type. Only SNP c.325T>C occurred as the wild type of homozygotes and heterozygotes in the ratio 2:1. We found that SNP c.325T>C was associated with some vital body parameters, including parameters of height and croup measurement. Thus, the determination of allelic variants of the MyoD1 gene may be used in marker assisted genetic selection schemes.