Association of CRTC2 gene polymorphisms with growth and meat quality traits of Qinchuan cattle

Growth and meat quality traits play important roles in the evaluation of cattle productivity and are influenced by genetic and environmental factors. CRTC2 is a recently discovered gene related to obesity that may influence fat deposition. The aim of the current study was to detect polymorphisms of bovine CRTC2 and explore their relationships to growth and meat quality in Qinchuan cattle. Three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs); g.3001 C>T; g.3034 G>A; and g.3467 T>C, were identified from sequencing results of 422 Qinchuan cattle. The genotypic distributions of both g.3034 G>A and g.3467 T>C mutations were in agreement with Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, (P < 0.05), while the T3001C mutation was not (P > 0.05), based on chi(2) test analysis. The SNPs g.3001 C>T and g.3034 G>A are missense mutations (Ser/Phe and Ser/Thr respectively). Additionally, SNPs g.3034 G>A and g.3467 T>C showed a medium polymorphism level (0.25 < PIC< 0.50), whereas g.3001 C>T showed a low polymorphism level (PIC < 0.25). These three SNPs were significantly associated with several growth and meat quality traits in the Qinchuan cattle population (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). Collectively, these results demonstrate that CRTC2 is involved in the regulation of cattle growth and meat quality, and suggest that CRTC2 is a potential candidate gene for marker-assisted selection in future breeding development programs for Qinchuan cattle.