Exploring polymorphisms and their effects on reproductive traits of the INHA and INHβA genes in three goat breeds

In this study, we report the analysis of INHA and INH beta A gene polymorphisms in 786 goats of three breeds: Xinong Saanen (SN), Guanzhong (GZ) and Boer (BG). We identified three new allelic variants: P1C80G and/126G (GenBank accession no. HQ202573) in the three goat breeds and P2C936T (GenBank accession no. HQ202572) in SN and GZ goat breeds. At P1 locus, AA, AB and BB genotypes were found in the three goat breeds. At P2 locus, CC and CT genotypes were found in SN and GZ goat breeds. After comparing genotype distribution within the three goat breeds, BG had conspicuous differences from SN and GZ (P < 0.001) at P2 locus. The SNP locus was in HardyWeinberg disequilibrium at P1 locus in the three goat breeds (P < 0.05). At P2 locus, the SNP locus was in HardyWeinberg disequilibrium in SN and GZ goat breeds (P < 0.05). Association of polymorphisms with litter size was done at P1 locus in the three goat breeds. The result showed that AA genotype had remarkable litter size at P1 locus in the three goat breeds (P < 0.05). Therefore, these results suggest that INHA gene is a strong candidate gene that affects litter size in goats.