Indel mutations of sheep <i>PLAG1</i> gene and their associations with growth traits

Abstract

<i>Pleiomorphic adenoma gene 1 (PLAG1)</i> is mainly expressed in embryonic development, and it is reported to take an effect on the growth performance of mice, cattle, pigs, and sheep. To explore how conservative the <i>PLAG1</i> is in different sheep breeds, the effects of the two indel variants on the growth traits of the Chinese Luxi blackhead (LXBH) sheep were firstly detected. The P2-del 30 bp and P4-del 45 bp indel loci of the sheep <i>PLAG1</i> gene were significantly related to 15 growth traits (<i>P</i> < 0.05). Genotype ID and genotype II were dominant for the P2-del 30 bp and P4-del 45 bp loci, respectively. The above findings indicated that the two indel mutations in the ovine <i>PLAG1</i> gene were suggested to become the molecular markers for the selection of economic traits in sheep.