5 research outputs found
Effects of new polymorphisms in the bovine myocyte enhancer factor 2D (MEF2D) gene on the expression rates of the longissimus dorsi muscle
Myocyte enhancer factor 2D (MEF2D), a product of the MEF2D gene, belongs to the myocyte enhancer factor 2 (MEF2) protein family which is involved in vertebrate skeletal muscle development and differentiation during myogenesis. The aim of the present study was to search for polymorphisms in the bovine MEF2D gene and to analyze their effect on MEF2D mRNA and on protein expression levels in the longissimus dorsi muscle of Polish HolsteināFriesian cattle. Overall, three novel variations, namely, insertion/deletion g.ā818_ā814AGCCG and g.ā211C<A transversion in the promoter region as well as g.7C<T transition in the 5ā²untranslated region (5ā²UTR), were identified by DNA sequencing. A total, 375 unrelated bulls belonging to six different cattle breeds were genotyped, and three combined genotypes (Ins-C-C/Ins-C-C, Del-A-T/Del-A-T and Ins-C-C/Del-A-T) were determined. The frequency of the combined genotype Ins-C-C/Ins-C-C and Del-A-T/Del-A-T was varied between the breeds and the average frequency was 0.521 and 0.037, respectively. Expression analysis showed that the MEF2D variants were highly correlated with MEF2D mRNA and protein levels in the longissimus dorsi muscle of Polish HolsteināFriesian bulls carrying the three different combined genotypes. The highest MEF2D mRNA and protein levels were estimated in the muscle of bulls with the Ins-C-C/Ins-C-C homozygous genotype as compared to the Del-A-T/Del-A-T homozygotes (PĀ <Ā 0.01) and Ins-C-C/Del-A-T heterozygotes (PĀ <Ā 0.05). A preliminary association study showed no significant differences in the carcass quality traits between bulls with various MEF2D combined genotypes in the investigated population of Polish HolsteināFriesian cattle