Molecular cloning, polymorphisms, and expression analysis of the RERG gene in indigenous Chinese goats

The current study aimed to investigate the coding sequence, polymorphisms, and expression of the RERG gene in indigenous Chinese goats. cDNA of RERG, obtained through reverse transcription PCR was analyzed using bioinformatic techniques. Polymorphisms in the exon regions of the RERG gene were identified and their associations with growth traits in three varieties of indigenous Chinese goats were investigated. Expression of the RERG gene in three goat breeds of the same age was detected using real-time quantitative PCR. The results revealed that the cDNA of RERG, which contained a complete open reading frame of 20-620 bp, was 629 bp in length. The associated accession numbers in GenBank are JN672576, JQ917222, and JN580309 for the QianBei Ma goat, the GuiZhou white goat, and the GuiZhou black goat, respectively. Four consistent SNP sites were found in the exon regions of the RERG gene for the three goat breeds. mRNA expression of the RERG gene differed between different tissues in adult goats of same age. The highest expression was observed in lung and spleen tissues, while the lowest expression was recorded in thymus gland tissue. In addition, the expression of the RERG gene in the muscle of Guizhou white goat, GuiZhou black goat, and QianBei Ma goat decreased sequentially. Our results lay the foundations for further investigation into the role of the RERG gene in goat growth traits.