Exploring the Sheep <i>MAST4</i> Gene Variants and Their Associations with Litter Size
Nazar Akhmet,
Leijing Zhu,
Jiajun Song,
Zhanerke Akhatayeva,
Qingfeng Zhang,
Peng Su,
Ran Li,
Chuanying Pan,
Xianyong Lan
Affiliations
Nazar Akhmet
Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
Leijing Zhu
Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
Jiajun Song
Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
Zhanerke Akhatayeva
Scientific Research Institute of Sheep Breeding Branch, Kazakh Scientific Research Institute of Animal Husbandry and Fodder Production, Mynbaev 040622, Kazakhstan
Qingfeng Zhang
Tianjin Aoqun Sheep Industry Academy Company, Tianjin 300000, China
Peng Su
National Germplasm Center of Domestic Animal Resources, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing 100193, China
Ran Li
Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
Chuanying Pan
Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
Xianyong Lan
Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
The economic efficiency of sheep breeding can be improved by enhancing sheep productivity. A recent genome-wide association study (GWAS) unveiled the potential impact of the MAST4 gene on prolificacy traits in Australian White sheep (AUW)). Herein, whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data from 26 different sheep breeds worldwide (n = 1507), including diverse meat, wool, milk, or dual-purpose sheep breed types from China, Europe, and Africa, were used. Moreover, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) genotyping of the MAST4 gene polymorphisms in (n = 566) Australian white sheep (AUW) was performed. The 3 identified polymorphisms were not homogeneously distributed across the 26 examined sheep breeds. Findings revealed prevalent polymorphisms (P3-ins-29 bp and P6-del-21 bp) with varying frequencies (0.02 to 0.97) across 26 breeds, while P5-del-24 bp was presented in 24 out of 26 breeds. Interestingly, the frequency of the P3-ins-29 bp variant was markedly higher in Chinese meat or dual-purpose sheep breeds, while the other two variants also showed moderate frequencies in meat breeds. Notably, association analysis indicated that all InDels were associated with AUW sheep litter size (p MAST4 gene could be useful in marker-assisted selection in sheep breeding.
