Expression of the Ovine Gene and the Relationship Between Its Polymorphism and Feed Efficiency Traits

In the mutton industry, feed efficiency traits have the greatest influence on the economic benefits of sheep raised in housing conditions. In this study, quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), Sanger sequencing, and KASPar methods were used to detect the expression levels of the B cell scaffold protein with ankyrin repeats 1 (BANK1) gene and the relationship between its polymorphism and feed efficiency traits in Hu sheep. The qRT-PCR results showed that the BANK1 gene was extensively expressed in 10 tissues and it was expressed at remarkably higher levels in lymph than in other tissues (p < 0.05). Then, the polymorphism locus, g.93888 A > T, was detected in intron 4 of the BANK1 gene and proved to be remarkably associated with feed efficiency traits (p < 0.05). Hence, the BANK1 gene can be used as a candidate gene for improving the feed efficiency of Hu sheep and this locus could be used as a potential molecular marker for breeding high-feed efficiency sheep in future breeding efforts.

Automated summary

In this study, the expression levels of the BANK1 gene and its polymorphism were investigated in Hu sheep using qRT-PCR, Sanger sequencing, and KASPar methods. The results revealed that the BANK1 gene was extensively expressed in multiple tissues, with significantly higher expression in lymph tissue. Additionally, a polymorphism locus, g.93888 A > T, in intron 4 of the BANK1 gene was found to be significantly associated with feed efficiency traits.