Polymorphism and expression of the HMGA1 gene and association with tail fat deposition in Hu sheep

Abstract

Hu sheep is an excellent short fat-tailed breed in China. Fat deposition in Hu sheep tail affects carcass quality and consumes a lot of energy, leading to an increase in feed cost. The objective of this study was to analyze the effects of HMGA1 polymorphism on tail fat weight in Hu sheep. Partial coding and non-coding sequences of HMGA1 were amplified with PCR and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) of HMGA1 in 1163 Hu sheep were detected using DNA sequencing and KASPar technology. RT-qPCR analysis was performed to test HMGA1 expression in different tissues. The results showed that the expression of HMGA1 was higher in the duodenum, liver, spleen, kidney, and lung than in the heart, muscle, rumen, tail fat, and lymph. A mutation, g.5312 C > T, was detected in HMGA1; g.5312 C > T was significantly associated with tail fat weight, relative weight of tail fat (body weight), and relative weight of tail fat (carcass) (p < 0.05). The tail fat weight of the TT genotype was remarkably higher than that of the CC and TC genotypes. Therefore, HMGA1 can be used as a genetic marker for marker-assisted selection of tail fat weight in Hu sheep.

Keywords:

• HMGA1
• RT-qPCR
• association analysis
• tail fat weight
• Hu sheep

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Author contributions

W. M. Wang and F. D. Li: conceived and designed the study. X. X Zhang and X. J. W: revised the manuscript. J. H. Wang: wrote the manuscript. L. M. Zhao, D. Xu, J. B. Cheng, W. X. Li, B. B. Zhou and C. C. Lin: participated in RNA and DNA extraction. D. Y. Zhang, X. L. Li, Y. K. Zhang, Y. Zhao, Q. Z. Song: contributed to the feeding experiment and sample collection.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Joint Research on improved breeds of Livestock and Poultry [grant no.19210365], the Earmarked Fund for China Agriculture Research System [grant no. CARS-38) and National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant no. 31960653].