Single nucleotide polymorphisms in the 3′ UTR of follistatin-like 4 and scavenger receptor class B member 1 are associated with Dazu black goat litter size

Abstract

The untranslated regions (UTRs) of genes play crucial roles in regulating gene expression at the post-transcriptional level such as affecting mRNA stabilization. In this study, 26 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and one deletion located in UTR were genotyped from 186 Dazu black goats via SNaPshot, and the correlation between genotype and litter size was analyzed. The results indicated that two SNP loci, SNP_chr17-20182525 and SNP_chr7-65652612, which were located at the 3′ UTR of scavenger receptor class B member 1 and follistatin-like 4, were significantly ( P < 0.05) correlated with the litter size of first parity goats. SNP_chr7-65652612 was also significantly associated with the total litter size of first and second parity offspring ( P < 0.05). In conclusion, SNP_chr7-65652612 and SNP_chr17-20182525 have correlation with the litter size of Dazu black goat and they are potential genetic markers for litter size breeding.