Are Copy Number Variations within the <i>Fec<sup>B</sup></i> Gene Significantly Associated with Morphometric Traits in Goats?
Yi Bi,
Zhiying Wang,
Qian Wang,
Hongfei Liu,
Zhengang Guo,
Chuanying Pan,
Hong Chen,
Haijing Zhu,
Lian Wu,
Xianyong Lan
Affiliations
Yi Bi
College of Animal Science and Technology, Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang 712100, China
Zhiying Wang
College of Animal Science and Technology, Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang 712100, China
Qian Wang
College of Animal Science and Technology, Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang 712100, China
Hongfei Liu
College of Animal Science and Technology, Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang 712100, China
Zhengang Guo
College of Animal Science and Technology, Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang 712100, China
Chuanying Pan
College of Animal Science and Technology, Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang 712100, China
Hong Chen
College of Animal Science and Technology, Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang 712100, China
Haijing Zhu
Shaanxi Provincial Engineering and Technology Research Center of Cashmere Goats, Yulin University, Yulin 719000, China
Lian Wu
College of Animal Science and Technology, Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang 712100, China
Xianyong Lan
College of Animal Science and Technology, Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang 712100, China
The Booroola fecundity (FecB) gene is a major fertility-related gene first identified in Booroola sheep. Numerous studies have investigated whether the FecB gene is a major fecundity gene in goats or whether there are other genes that play a critical role in goat fertility. Nevertheless, little attention has been paid to the role of the FecB gene in the body morphometric traits of goats, despite the positive relationship discerned between litter size and growth. We identified five copy number variations (CNVs) within the FecB gene in 641 goats, including 318 Shaanbei white cashmere (SBWC) goats, 203 Guizhou Heima (GZHM) goats, and 120 Nubian goats, which exhibited different distributions among these populations. Our results revealed that these five CNVs were significantly associated with goat morphometric traits (p FecB and potential transcription factors (TFs) that could bind with the CNVs were analyzed via bioinformatics. Although no significant LD block was detected, our results illustrated that these CNVs could bind to growth-related TFs and indirectly affect the growth development of the goats. We identified potential markers to promote litter size and growth, and we offer a theoretical foundation for further breeding work.
