Detection of genetic variation in bovine CRY1 gene and its associations with carcass traits

Abstract

The biological clock (also known as circadian clock) is closely related to growth and development, metabolism, and diseases in animals. As a part of the circadian clock, the cryptochrome circadian regulator 1 (CRY1) gene is involved in the regulation of biological processes such as osteogenesis, energy metabolism and cell proliferation, however, few studies have been reported on the relationship between this gene and animal carcass traits. Herein, a total of four insertion/deletion (InDel) loci within the CRY1 gene were detected in Shandong Black Cattle Genetic Resource (SDBCGR) population (n = 433). Among them, the P1-6-bp-del locus was polymorphic in population of interest. Moreover, the P1-6-bp-del locus showed two genotypes, with a higher insertion/insertion (II) genotype frequency (0.751) than insertion/deletion (ID) genotype frequency (0.249). Correlation analysis showed that the P1-6-bp-del locus polymorphisms were significantly associated with twenty carcass traits (e.g., slaughter weight, limb weight, and belly meat weight). Individuals with II genotype were significantly better than those with ID genotype for eighteen carcass traits. Therefore, the P1-6-bp-del locus of the CRY1 gene can be used as a molecular marker for beef cattle breeding.

Keywords:

• Bovine
• cryptochrome circadian regulator 1 (CRY1)
• insertion/deletion (InDel)
• carcass traits
• correlation analysis

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Dr. Enliang Song’s team for samples in Shandong Key Laboratory of Animal Disease Control and Breeding, Institute of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Jinan, Shandong, China.

Ethics approval

All animal tests conducted in this study have been completed under the supervision and guidance of the Animal Welfare Committee of Northwest A&F University (NWAFU-31402008), all procedures comply with their specifications.

Author contributions

Kejing Zhang and Fang Mi: draft writing, experiment conducting, data collection, and data interpretation, Xuelan Li: data analysis and experiment conducting, Kejing Zhang: experiment conducting, Zhiying Wang: experiment conducting, Xianyong Lan: research conception and design, Peng Guo: Data analysis and data interpretation, Enliang Song and Fugui Jiang: supervision, project administration, writing, review, & editing.

Disclosure statement

The authors certify that there is no conflict of interest with any financial organization regarding the material discussed in the manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Agricultural Improved Seed Project of Shandong Province [Grant No. 2020LZGC014], the National Project for Undergraduate of Northwest A&F University [Grant No. S202010712004] and the National Natural Science Foundation of Tianjing [Grant No.19JCYBJC24800].