Variations of Melanocortin Receptor 1 (MC1R) Gene in Three Pig Breeds

Variations of Melanocortin Receptor 1 （MC1R） were investigated using sequencing, PCR-RFLP and PCR-SSCP, in three pig breeds, Landrace, Yorkshire, and Duroc. Five polymorphic sites were found, in which 668G→C occurred within 5＇ UTR, nt894insCC in coding region resulting in a premature stop at codon 56, and 1318C→T, 1554G→A, l197G→A in coding region resulting in Ala164Val, Ala243Thr, and Asp124Asn respectively. All individuals in Landrace and Yorkshire present homozygous 668GG, 1197AA, 1318CC, and 1554GG, and have CC insertions at the 894 site, whereas the individuals in Duroc present a contrast homozygous 668CC, 1197GG, 1318TT, and 1554AA, and have no CC insertions at the corresponding site. No heterozygote has been found at these mutation sites. Presumably, 668G→C, 1318C→T, and 1554G→A may be associated with the recessive red color in the Duroc breed, and nt894insCC making 1197G→A nonsense may be associated with the white color in Landrace and Yorkshire breeds.

Cloning and Expression Level Analysis of Melanocyte-stimulating Hormone Receptor 1 Gene(MC1R) in Alpacas with Different Coat Color

Specific primers for the MC1R gene of alpacas(GenBank EU1358800) were designed to amplify the cDNA sequence using RT-PCR to seek variation in the sequence and explore the relationship between the expression level of MC1R gene and alpaca coat color.The MC1R gene from white alpaca was cloned successfully and sequence analysis verified that the MC1R gene,encoding 317 amino acids,was 1081 bp in length.Compared with the existing sequence in GenBank,sequence identity was 99.9%and 7 mutations were found.Primers,designed from the sequence obtained,were used to assess the relative expression of MC1R in alpacas of different coat color using QRT-PCR and SPSS 13.0 software.Relative expression of MC1R in the skin of brown alpacas was 4.32 times higher than that in white alpacas after normalization with GAPDH(P【0.01),indicating that MC1R expression may be related to coat color of alpacas.

四个牦牛品种MC1R基因部分序列的多态性研究

为探索4个牦牛品种MC1R基因多态性的相关信息,选取甘南牦牛、天祝白牦牛、青海高原牦牛、大通牦牛4个品种共408头个体为研究对象,采用PCR-SSCP方法分析牦牛MC1R基因部分序列的基因多态性。结果表明,与GenBank中牛MCIR基因序列(登录号:AF445641.1)比对发现,该扩增片段在3 891 bp处发生C→G的突变,在3 912 bp处发生T→C的突变,共发现CC、DD、EE、CD、CE和DE 6种基因型。4个牦牛品种中CD、CE和DE 3种基因型在青海高原牦牛和大通牦牛中占主要优势,这3种基因型频率总和在青海高原牦牛和大通牦牛群体中分别是0.778和0.781。DD和CD两基因型是甘南牦牛群里中的优势基因型,其基因型频率分别是0.351和0.328。天祝白牦牛中优势基因型是DD,其基因型频率是0.500。D等位基因是4个地方品种牦牛中的优势等位基因。4个地方品种在该基因座上都处于Hardy-Weinberg平衡状态(P>0.05)。青海高原牦牛和大通牦牛两个群体处于高度多态(PIC>0.5),甘南牦牛和天祝白牦牛处于中度多态(0.25<PIC<0.5)。

Melanocortin-1 receptor gene variants in four Chinese ethnic populations

There is strong relationship between melanocortin-1 receptor (MCIR) gene variants and human hair color and skin type. Based on a sequencing study of MC1R gene in 50 individuals from the Uygur, Tibetan, Wa and Dai ethnic populations, we discuss the occurrence of 7 mc1r variants consisting of 5 nonsynonymous sites (Val60Leu, Arg67Gln, Val92Met, Arg163Gln and Ala299Val) and 2 synonymous sites (C414T and A942G), among which C414T and Ala299Val were reported for the first time. Confirmation and analysis were the made of 122 individuals at three common point mutations (Val92Met, Arg163Gln, A942G) using PCR-SSCP. The frequency of Arg163Gln variant varies in the four ethnic populations, with percentage of 40%, 85.0%, 66. 2% and 72.7%, respectively, while those of Val92Met and A942G are roughly similar in these four populations. The different environments, migration and admixture of various ethnic groups in China might have impact on the observed frequency of Arg163Gln.

6品系彩色獭兔Mc1r和agouti基因mRNA表达量与毛色相关性

以海狸色、青紫蓝色、紫貂色、蓝色、黄色、白色和黑色獭兔为研究对象,采用实时定量PCR方法对agouti和Mc1r基因在不同毛色獭兔的皮肤、肝脏、垂体和脾脏组织的表达水平进行测定。结果表明,彩色獭兔agouti和Mc1r基因在各组织均有表达,其表达量与各组织及色素的生成相关,皮肤表达量最高,肝脏和垂体高于常规组织脾脏。Agouti和Mc1r基因表达量具有毛色差异性,且两者表达量呈负相关。Agouti基因在海狸色、青紫蓝色和黄色獭兔表达量高,在黑色、蓝色和紫貂色獭兔表达量低;Mc1r基因在黑色表达量最高,黄色獭兔表达量最低。Agouti和Mc1r基因表达量能够显著改变被毛颜色,为被毛颜色形成的关键因子。