Identification of single nucleotide polymorphisms of the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 gene (STAT3) associated with body measurement and carcass quality traits in beef cattle

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Previous studies have shown that the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 gene (STAT3) is involved in lipid storage and energy metabolism, suggesting that STAT3 is a potential candidate gene that affects body measurement and carcass quality traits in animals. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify polymorphisms in bovine STAT3 and to analyze their possible associations with body measurement and carcass quality traits in 493 individuals of 2 native Chinese cattle breeds: Qinchuan (N = 371) and Jiaxian cattle (N = 122). DNA sequencing and polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) were employed to detect STAT3 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). We found 5 SNPs: 1 in an exon (g.65812G>A: exon 16) and 4 in introns (g.43591G>A: 13 intron, g.67492T>G: 19 intron, g.67519T>C: 19 intron, and g.68964G>A: 20 intron). Both g.65812G>A and g.68964G>A were not in HardyWeinberg equilibrium (HWE), whereas individual frequencies of each genotype were consistent with HWE for other SNPs in Qinchuan cattle populations. For the Jiaxian cattle, the genotype distributions of the 4 mutations were in HWE except for g.67519T>C. The results indicate that these SNPs have a significant association with some body measurements and carcass quality traits (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). Therefore, STAT3 might have potential effects on production traits in beef cattle populations and could be used for marker-assisted selection.

Genetic Variants in STAT3 Promoter Regions and Their Application in Molecular Breeding for Body Size Traits in Qinchuan Cattle

“…Interestingly, a recent mouse study showed that STAT3 regulates differentiation of brown adipose tissues (BAT), involved primarily in burning energy [ 17 ]. Genetic variants of STAT3 in cattle directly influence body size and carcass quality traits [ 18 ].…”

Comparison of Growth Performance, Immunity, Antioxidant Capacity, and Liver Transcriptome of Calves between Whole Milk and Plant Protein-Based Milk Replacer under the Same Energy and Protein Levels

“…In the present study, we also observed that the upregulation of STAT3 expression regulated the cell cycle and apoptosis via the JAK/STAT signaling pathway ( Figure S5 ). STAT3 stimulates fat deposition in cattle [ 48 ]. Therefore, the milk replacer used in the present study might have increased fat deposition in the liver, thereby negatively affecting the hepatic function.…”