Melanocortin 4 receptor (MC4R) is a member of the G proteincoupled receptor (GPCR) superfamily consisting of seven transmembrane domains with an extracellular NH2 tail and an intracellular COOH terminus. MC4R is mainly expressed in the hypothalamus in which plays a key role in controlling energy homeostasis and food intake with effects on body weight and fat deposition. Polymorphisms in the melanocortin 4 receptor (MC4R) gene have been already associated with growth performance in different species, like pigs, cattle, sheep and chicken and in humans several mutations cause severe obesity. For these reasons MC4R can be considered a candidate gene to identify markers associated with production traits in rabbits. In this study we resequenced 1729 bp of the MC4R gene in 31 rabbits from different breeds and lines and identified ten polymorphisms: one was a missense mutation (p.G34D), located in a conserved position of the extracellular tail of the MC4R protein. The missense mutation was genotyped in 516 performance tested rabbits of a commercial paternal line under selection for growth efficiency. Association analysis indicated that rabbits with the less frequent genotype in this population (DD) had a lighter weight at 70 postnatal days than animals with genotype GD (P<0.10) and animals with genotype GG (P<0.05). This result may confirm the important roles of variability in the MC4R gene in affecting growth and related traits across species.
Identification of polymorphisms in the rabbit melanocortin 4 receptor gene and association with finishing weight in a commercial rabbit population
FONTANESI, LUCA;SCOTTI, EMILIO;DALL'OLIO, STEFANIA;
2013
Abstract
Melanocortin 4 receptor (MC4R) is a member of the G proteincoupled receptor (GPCR) superfamily consisting of seven transmembrane domains with an extracellular NH2 tail and an intracellular COOH terminus. MC4R is mainly expressed in the hypothalamus in which plays a key role in controlling energy homeostasis and food intake with effects on body weight and fat deposition. Polymorphisms in the melanocortin 4 receptor (MC4R) gene have been already associated with growth performance in different species, like pigs, cattle, sheep and chicken and in humans several mutations cause severe obesity. For these reasons MC4R can be considered a candidate gene to identify markers associated with production traits in rabbits. In this study we resequenced 1729 bp of the MC4R gene in 31 rabbits from different breeds and lines and identified ten polymorphisms: one was a missense mutation (p.G34D), located in a conserved position of the extracellular tail of the MC4R protein. The missense mutation was genotyped in 516 performance tested rabbits of a commercial paternal line under selection for growth efficiency. Association analysis indicated that rabbits with the less frequent genotype in this population (DD) had a lighter weight at 70 postnatal days than animals with genotype GD (P<0.10) and animals with genotype GG (P<0.05). This result may confirm the important roles of variability in the MC4R gene in affecting growth and related traits across species.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
