Association between polymorphisms of MSTN and MYF5 genes and growth traits in three Chinese cattle breeds.

摘要

The objective of this study was to assess the association of polymorphisms in the MSTN (myostatin) and MYF5 genes with growth traits in 3 Chinese cattle breeds. 411 cattle (210 Nanyang, 93 Qinchuan and 108 Jiaxian) were used in this study. Only one homozygous animal with BB genotype at MSTN locus was observed in the Jiaxian population, which was at Hardy-Weinberg disequilibrium (p<0.05). The frequencies of allele A at MSTN locus and allele B at MYF5 locus in the 3 Chinese breeds were 0.9550, 0.9730, 0.9720 and 0.8275, 0.7581, 0.7523, respectively. Allele A at MSTN locus and allele B at MYF5 locus were dominant in these 3 populations. Insignificant differences in growth traits were observed between the genotypes of the Jiaxian breed at MSTN and MYF5 loci and the Nanyang breed at MYF5 locus. However, significant differences were observed between the genotypes at MSTN locus of the Nanyang breed for withers height (WH), heart girth (HG), heart girth index (HGI) and ratio of heart girth and body length (RHGBL, p<0.05) and of the Qinchuan breed for body length index (BLI, p<0.05). The single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in MYF5 had significant effects on WH and height at hip cross (HHC) of Qinchuan animals (p<0.05). These results suggested that MSTN and MYF5 were strong candidate genes that influenced the growth traits in cattle. Other SNPs of MSTN and MYF5 or other linked genes should also be studied, which could lead to the development of selection plans to improve the performance of Chinese cattle and also promote the breeding of genuine beef cattle in China.