Polymorphism Of Three Coat Color Related Genes (MC1R,TYRP1 And ASIP) In Chinese Local Cattle

Hair color,as an easily recognized marker,has been widely used in the identification,hybridization and breeding of livestock breeds.At present,many genes related to hair color phenotype have been reported.Chinese cattle are rich in genetic resources and hair color phenotype.However,reports on hair color genes in Chinese cattle are limited to a few breeds,which cannot fully reveal the genetic polymorphism of hair color related genes in Chinese cattle.In this study,a total of 1116 individuals from 13 native breeds and 2 foreign cattle breeds(Angus and Brahman)were sampled.PCR amplification,sequencing and correlation analysis were used to explore the correlation ofMC1R,TYRP1 and ASIP gene polymorphisms with Chinese cattle.The main results are as follows:(1)One SNP(c.296T>c)and one indel(c.310del)reported previously were detected in the exon of MC1R gene of Chinese cattle.Three alleles(E~D,E~+and E)were defined for these two variants.But these three alleles could not be used to distinguish the different hair color phenotypes of Chinese cattle.(2)A previously reported SNP(c.1300C>T)in exon 7 of TYRP1 gene was found in Chinese cattle,which was missense mutation and resulted in the change of histidine into tyrosine.However,this mutation could not be used to distinguish the brown phenotype from the non-brown phenotype of Chinese cattle.(3)A missense mutation(c.190A>G)was detected in the exon 3 of bovine ASIP gene,which resulted in the change of the encoded amino acid from arginine to glycine,but the SNP showed no absolute correlation with any hair color phenotype of Chinese cattle.This study comprehensively revealed the genetic polymorphisms of three hair color related genes(MC1R,TYRP1 and ASIP)in Chinese cattle,but no specific SNP was found to be related to the hair color phenotype of Chinese local cattle.Our results indicate that the hair color phenotype of Chinese local cattle is very complex and needs further study.