Detection of insertion/deletions (indels) of the <i>ATBF1</i> gene and their effects on growth-related traits in three indigenous goat breeds

Abstract

The AT motif-binding factor (ATBF1), also known as zinc finger homeobox 3 (ZFXH3), is necessary for activating the POU1F1 gene; thus, the ATBF1 gene greatly affects the grow traits in animals. The objective of this work was to explore novel indel (insertion/deletion) variations and their associations with growth traits in three native Chinese goat breeds. Two indels within the ATBF1 gene were found in the Shaanbei white cashmere goat (SWCG; n = 581), the Guanzhong dairy goat (GZDG; n = 334) and the Hainan black goat (HNBG; n = 270) for the first time using 12 pairs of primers. Association analysis revealed that the P1-12-bp indel was consistently correlated with the body height of the three breeds, and individuals with ID (insertion/deletion) and DD (deletion/deletion) genotypes had a higher body weight than the II (insertion/insertion) genotype (P = 0.036); the P11-6-bp indel was consistently correlated with chest circumference and hip width of the three breeds. Moreover, these two loci were associated with other several growth-related traits in different breeds. Hence, these findings indicated that the goat ATBF1 gene had marked effects on growth traits and the growth-trait-related loci, which would contribute to improving the growth-related traits of local breeds in the goat industry by implementing marker-assisted selection (MAS).