Association of Single Nucleotide Polymorphism in Pancreatic Lipase Gene with Growth-Related Traits in Japanese Black Beef Cattle

Growth performance as well as marbling is the main breeding objectives in Japanese Black cattle, the major beef breed in Japan. Researchers have recently reported that a Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) referred to as rs41648172 in intron 6 region of the Pancreatic Lipase (PNLIP) gene was associated with marbling in Japanese Black beef cattle with the T allele being associated with a high level of marbling. The PNLIP is known to be involved in the hydrolysis of dietary triglycerides to fatty acids which is essential for the intestinal absorption of long-chain triglyceride fatty acids. Thus, the PNLIP was considered as a functional candidate for the gene responsible for growth performance. In this study, researchers analyzed the effect of the PNLIP rs41648172 SNP genotypes on the growth-related traits in Japanese Black beef cattle. The SNP was associated with carcass weight, rib eye area, rib thickness and daily gain in the experiment using 367 paternal half-sib progeny steers from a sire homozygous for C allele at the rs41648172 in Japanese Black beef cattle. The SNP was also associated with carcass weight, rib eye area and daily gain in the experiment using 587 paternal half-sib progeny steers from a sire homozygous for T allele at the rs41648172 in Japanese Black beef cattle. These findings suggest possible effect of the rs41648172 on the growth-related traits in Japanese Black beef cattle. The PNLIP SNP polymorphism may be useful for effective marker-assisted selection to increase the beef productivity in Japanese Black beef cattle.