Identification of the Ovine Keratin-Associated Protein 21-1 Gene and Its Association with Variation in Wool Traits

Identification of the Ovine Keratin-Associated Protein 21-1 Gene and Its Association with Variation in Wool Traits

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Keratin-associated proteins (KAPs) are key constituents of wool and hair fibers.In this study, an ovine KAP gene encoding a HGT-KAP protein was identified.The gene was different from all of the HGT-KAP genes identified in sheep, but was closely related to the human KAP21-1 gene, suggesting that it represented the unidentified ovine KRTAP21-1.Four variants (named A to D) of ovine Chips KRTAP21-1 were found in 360 Merino × Southdown-cross lambs from four sire lines.

Three sequence variations were detected among these variants.Two of the sequence variations were located upstream of the coding region and the remaining one was a synonymous variation in the coding sequence.Six genotypes were found in the Merino-cross lambs, with only two of the genotypes (AA and AC) occurring at a frequency of over 5%.Wool from sheep of genotype AA had a higher yield than that from AC sheep (p = 0.

014), but tended to have a lower greasy fleece weight (GFW) than that of genotype AC (P = 0.078).This suggests that variation in KRTAP21-1 affects wool yield Pipe Miscellaneous and the gene may have potential for use as a genetic maker for improving wool yield.