Impacts of single nucleotide polymorphisms and haplotypes in the bovine Dapper1 gene on body weight

Abstract

ABSTRACT. The Dapper1 protein plays important role in multiple developmental processes via negative modulation of the Wnt signaling pathway. We detected variations in Dapper1 in 1185 individuals from 5 Chinese cattle breeds and determined their effects on bovine body weight. Two silent mutations (g.8344C>T and g.8428C>T) in exon 6 along with two substitutions (g.10513A>G and g.10765C>G) in the 3ꞌ-untranslated region were detected with DNA pool sequencing and forced polymerase chain reactionrestriction fragment length polymorphism. Haplotype variability and the extent of linkage disequilibrium of the 4 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were analyzed, and the results revealed 16 haplotypes and 7 combined haplotypes in the 5 cattle breeds. Statistical analyses indicated that genotypes CC and AA in the g.8344C>T and g.10513A>G loci were associated with heavier body Genetic impacts of SNPs and haplotypes in bovine Dapper1weight at 6 months in the Nanyang cattle population (P < 0.05), and the combined haplotype had consistent significant effects on body weight with a single SNP. Cattle with haplotype combinations H1H5 (CCCTAACC) displayed the heaviest body weight at 6 months compared with that of other haplotypes (P < 0.05). Our results provide evidence that 4 SNPs and haplotypes in Dapper1 may be used for marker-assisted selection in beef cattle breeding programs.