mRNA expression pattern and association study with growth traits of bovine vaspin gene

Visceral adipose tissue-derived serine protease inhibitor (vaspin) is an interesting novel adipocytokine with insulin-sensitizing effects. Some studies have suggested that vaspin could play an important role in the development of obesity and metabolic disorders. However, the tissue expression patterns in cattle and impact of vaspin gene variants on the growth traits has not been determined yet. Herein, we firstly investigated the tissue expression patterns of vaspin gene in new born and adult cattle. The results showed that vaspin was ubiquitously expressed in most tissues and strongly expressed in the heart, skeletal muscle and fat. Then, genetic variants within bovine vaspin gene were screened in 1235 individuals from five Chinese indigenous cattle breeds. Two novel mutations in coding region (NW_001494061: g.1124477 G>A and g.1118561 T>C) of bovine vaspin gene were identified using MspI PCR-RFLP and HhaI ACRS PCR-RFLP detection. Association analysis revealed both two mutations were significantly associated with bodyweight and chest girth at 24 months in cattle (P < 0.05). Therefore, the MspI and HhaI genetic variants of bovine vaspin gene were recommended as DNA markers related to growth traits through marker-assisted selection for genetics and breeding in cattle.