FecB mutation and litter size are associated with a 90-base pair deletion in BMPR1B in East Friesian and Hu crossbred sheep

• Published in: Animal biotechnology Vol. 34; no. 4; pp. 1314 - 1323
• Main Authors: Li, Danni, Zhang, Lei, Wang, Yuchen, Chen, Xingzhuo, Li, Fu, Yang, Lichun, Cui, Jiuzeng, Li, Ran, Cao, Binyun, An, Xiaopeng, Song, Yuxuan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Taylor & Francis 01.11.2023; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: BMPR1B; FecB mutation; Gene deletion; Genotypes; Identification methods; insertion/deletion; Linkage analysis; Linkage disequilibrium; Litter size; Livestock; Mutation; Ovulation; Reproduction; Sheep; insertion/deletion; FecB mutation; litter size; BMPR1B
• ISSN: 1049-5398; 1532-2378
• DOI: 10.1080/10495398.2021.2020805

Litter size is a critical economic trait in livestock, but only a few studies have focused on associated indel mutations in BMPR1B, a key regulator of ovulation and litter size in sheep. We evaluated the effects of BMPR1B mutations on the reproductive performance of sheep. We used Hu, East Friesian, and East Friesian/Hu crossbred sheep as experimental subjects and identified a novel 90 bp deletion in BMPR1B, which coincides with the c.746A > G (FecB mutation) genotype. The correlation between the two loci and litter size was then evaluated. We identified three genotypes for the Del-90bp locus, namely, II, ID, and DD, and three genotypes for the c.746A > G locus, namely ++, B+, and BB. Both Del-90bp and c.746A > G significantly affected the litter size of Hu and East Friesian/Hu crossbred sheep. Linkage disequilibrium analysis revealed a strong linkage disequilibrium between these loci in Hu sheep and the F1 population (r 2 > 0.33), which suggests that detecting this 90 bp deletion might be a simple method to identify the likely carriers of c.746A > G. However, the function of this 90-bp deletion still needs further exploration. We provide genetic data that can be used as a reference for the breeding of improved prolific traits in sheep.