Identification and association of polymorphism in THOC5 gene with fatty acid composition in Indonesian sheep

Abstract

Abstract THO Complex 5 (THOC5) gene involves in lipid and fatty acid metabolism. The aim of this study was to analyse polymorphism of THOC5 gene and its association with fatty acid composition in sheep. A total of 120 rams at the age 12 month with the average body weight of 25–30 kg was used for identification of gene polymorphism using Polymerase Chain Reaction- Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). 83 rams, representative from different genotypes of sheep were used for association study using a General Linear Model (GLM). The results identifed polymorphism in the THOC5 gene. The THOC5 gene showed two genotypes: CC and CT genotype. Association analysis revealed that THOC5 (g.68234589 C>T) was significantly (P<0.05) associated with fatty acid composition including unsaturated fatty acid: palmitoleic acid (C16:1), and saturated fatty acid: stearic acid (C18:0). The CC genotype was associated with higher level of unsaturated fatty acid and lower level of saturated fatty acid, while the CT genotype was vice versa. This result indicates that THOC5 gene (g.68234589 C>T) may contribute to fatty acid composition in sheep, as well as this polymorphism could be used as a candidate to select sheepmeat with high unsaturated fatty acid and low saturated fatty acid.