Association of CRTC2 gene polymorphisms with growth and meat quality traits of Qinchuan cattle

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Growth and meat quality traits play important roles in the evaluation of cattle productivity and are influenced by genetic and environmental factors. CRTC2 is a recently discovered gene related to obesity that may influence fat deposition. The aim of the current study was to detect polymorphisms of bovine CRTC2 and explore their relationships to growth and meat quality in Qinchuan cattle. Three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs); g.3001 C>T; g.3034 G>A; and g.3467 T>C, were identified from sequencing results of 422 Qinchuan cattle. The genotypic distributions of both g.3034 G>A and g.3467 T>C mutations were in agreement with Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, (P < 0.05), while the T3001C mutation was not (P > 0.05), based on χ 2 test analysis. The SNPs g.3001 C>T and g.3034 G>A are missense mutations (Ser/Phe and Ser/ 12913 SNPs in bovine CRTC2 and economic production traits ©FUNPEC-RP www.funpecrp.com.br Genetics and Molecular Research 14 (4): 12912-12920 (2015) Thr respectively). Additionally, SNPs g.3034 G>A and g.3467 T>C showed a medium polymorphism level (0.25 < PIC< 0.50), whereas g.3001 C>T showed a low polymorphism level (PIC < 0.25). These three SNPs were significantly associated with several growth and meat quality traits in the Qinchuan cattle population (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). Collectively, these results demonstrate that CRTC2 is involved in the regulation of cattle growth and meat quality, and suggest that CRTC2 is a potential candidate gene for marker-assisted selection in future breeding development programs for Qinchuan cattle.

Genetic variants in the TORC2 gene promoter and their association with body measurement and carcass quality traits in Qinchuan cattle

“…Previous literature has shown that the TORC2 gene functions as a nutrient transporter and regulates adipogenesis through regulation of the transcriptional activity of PPARγ [63]. Various findings [2,3,6,61,64,65] confirmed the significant roles of the TORC2 gene in cell growth, nutrient metabolism, gluconeogenesis, myogenesis and adipogenesis. Therefore, we can conclude that variants in TORC2 gene might be good markers for body measures and carcass quality traits in the breed improvement program of Qinchuan cattle.…”

“…After the small intestine, we found a significant increase in the TORC2 gene mRNA relative expression in muscle and fat tissue. The role of TORC2 through the CREB pathway is responsible for skeletal muscle functioning and myogenesis, glucose homeostasis and lipid metabolism in adipocytes [60,61]. Moreover, the TORC2 gene regulates adipogenesis and glucose homeostasis and monitors insulin sensitivity [62].…”