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Ovine acyl CoA :diacylglycerol acyltransferase 1 – molecular characterization, polymorphisms and association with milk traits
Author(s) -
Scatà M. C.,
Napolitano F.,
Casu S.,
Carta A.,
De Matteis G.,
Signorelli F.,
Annicchiarico G.,
Catillo G.,
Moioli B.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
animal genetics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.756
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1365-2052
pISSN - 0268-9146
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2052.2009.01909.x
Subject(s) - biology , untranslated region , single nucleotide polymorphism , genetics , snp , intron , gene , genetic association , allele , genotype , messenger rna
Summary The objective of this work was to characterize the complete coding region of the ovine acyl CoA:diacylglycerol acyltransferase 1 ( DGAT1 ) gene of three Italian sheep breeds: Sarda, Altamurana and Gentile di Puglia. Characterization was accomplished by direct sequencing of 8676 bp of the relevant DNA, including introns and partial 5′ and 3′ untranslated regions (UTRs). We detected five novel SNPs; one SNP (g.5553C>T) is located in intron 2, has similar frequencies in the three breeds and showed a negative association with milk fat content. More interesting is an SNP in the 5′ UTR (g.127C>A), the occurrence of which is rare in the higher milk‐fat breeds (Altamurana and Gentile di Puglia); it is located in the core sequence of Sp1 , a putative binding site of transcription factors. This SNP showed a significant negative association with milk fat content in the Sarda sheep. Because DGAT1 plays a fundamental role in triacylglycerol synthesis, the novel detected SNP in the 5′ UTR of the DGAT1 gene might explain, at least partially, the variation of fat content in the milk of Sarda sheep.