Molecular Characterization and Expression Profiles of the Ovine LHβ Gene and Its Association with Litter Size in Chinese Indigenous Small-Tailed Han Sheep

Animals

Shijia Liu¹  Yongfu La¹  Fadi Li¹  Chong Li¹  Weimin Wang¹  Xiangyu Pan¹  Xiaoxue Zhang¹ 

[1] College of Animal Science and Technology, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China;

关键词: lhβ;    genetic characteristic;    expression profiles;    litter size;    sheep;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ani10030460

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

The luteinizing hormone beta polypeptide (LHβ) is a glycoprotein hormone secreted by basophilic granular cells of the adenohypophysis, and plays an important role in mammalian follicular development. In this study, we cloned and analyzed the cDNA sequence of the ovine LHβ gene. RT-qPCR analysis showed that ovine LHβ was widely expressed in tissues, with significantly higher expression in the hypophysis than that in other tissues (heart, liver, spleen, lung, kidney, rumen, duodenum, muscle, fat, hypothalamus, and sex glands) (p < 0.01). Hypophyseal expression of LHβ mRNA in lamb increased with age and reached a peak at 70 days, although a slight decrease was observed at 84 days of age. In addition, the synonymous mutation g.727C > T detected in the LHβ gene was confirmed to be significantly associated with the litter size (p < 0.01). Ewes carrying the TT genotype produced more lambs than those carrying the TC and CC genotypes (0.42 and 0.39 per delivery, respectively; p < 0.05). Our results confirm the association of ovine LHβ with litter size in Small-Tailed Han Sheep and implicate LHβ as a candidate for improving reproductive traits in agricultural sheep breeding programs.

【 授权许可】

Unknown