Research Article
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Molecular Determination of the Associations between Myostatin Gene and Some Growth Traits of Rabbits

Year 2025, Volume: 8 Issue: 3, 359 - 366, 15.05.2025

Hasan Batuhan Demircioğlu , Zeynel Cebeci

https://doi.org/10.47115/bsagriculture.1530496

Abstract

This study investigates the myostatin (MSTN) gene polymorphisms and their associations with some growth traits in New Zealand white rabbits. A substitution from cytosine (C) to thymine (T) was observed at base position 847 in the second intron region of the gene, and the genotypes TT and CT were attained only. Genotype frequencies were calculated as 47% for TT and 53% for CT, while allele frequencies were determined as 74% for T and 26% for C. The genotype was found to be not in Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium (χ²=7.27, P<0.01). The research revealed that the significant associations of MSTN gene polymorphism on some growth traits such as live weight, shoulder-to-tail length, front leg length, and chest circumference. Rabbits belongs to the TT genotype were found to have significantly higher live weight and front leg length compared to rabbits with the CT genotype, while rabbits with the CT genotype were found to be longer in shoulder-to-tail length and chest circumference compared to rabbits with the TT genotype. No statistically significant differences were found among the genotypes for other growth traits such as neck-to-shoulder length, hind leg length, and ear length. These findings suggest that MSTN gene polymorphism may influence certain growth traits in rabbits, and the observed genotypic differences, especially in traits such as live weight, shoulder-to-tail length, front leg length, and chest circumference, should be considered in genetic breeding programs. The findings of this study contributes to better understanding of the potential of MSTN gene polymorphisms in rabbit breeding programs.

Keywords

Myostatin Candidate gene Polymorphism Rabbit Growth traits

Ethical Statement

The authors confirm that the ethical policies of the journal, as noted on the journal's author guidelines page, have been adhered to. The experimental procedures were approved by the Local Animal Care and Ethics Committee of Çukurova University in Adana, Türkiye (Approval date: March 28, 2024 and protocol code:3).

Supporting Institution

The Scientific Research Unit of Çukurova University

Project Number

FYL-2022-15491

Thanks

This study was financially supported by the Scientific Research Unit of Çukurova University (ÇÜ BAP) with the project number FYL-2022-15491. This paper is partly based on the MSc thesis work by Hasan Demircioğlu, entitled "Molecular determination of the relationship between Myostatin (MSTN) and Insulin Growth Factor 2 (IGF-2) and growth characteristics in rabbits". We would like to thank our colleague Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mervan Bayraktar for his valuable help in laboratory studies for PCR and DNA extraction.

References

  • Abdel-Kafy EM, Darwish SF, Elkhishin D, 2016. Correlating single nucleotide polymorphisms in the myostatin gene with performance traits in rabbit. World Rabbit Sci, 24(3): 213-221.
  • Aiello D, Patel K, Lasagna E, 2018. The myostatin gene: an overview of mechanisms of action and its relevance to livestock animals. Anim Genet, 49(6): 505-519.
  • Bagnicka E, Siadkowska E, Strzałkowska N, Żelazowska B, Flisikowski K, Krzyżewski J, Zwierzchowski L, 2010. Association of polymorphisms in exons 2 and 10 of the insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF2) gene with milk production traits in Polish Holstein-Friesian cattle. J Dairy Res, 77(1): 37-42.
  • Berkowicz EW, Magee DA, Sikora KM, Berry DP, Howard DJ, Mullen MP, MacHugh DE, 2011. Single nucleotide polymorphisms at the imprinted bovine insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF2) locus are associated with dairy performance in Irish Holstein-Friesian cattle. J Dairy Res, 78(1): 1-8.
  • Bindu KA, Raveendran A, Antony S, Raghunandanan KV, 2011. Association of myostatin gene (MSTN) polymorphism with economic traits in rabbits. In: Pérez-Cabal MÁ, Gutiérrez JP, Cervantes I, Alcalde MJ (eds.), Fibre Production in South American Camelids and Other Fibre Animals. Wageningen Acad Publ, Wageningen. https://doi.org/10.3920/978-90-8686-727-1_16.
  • Cartuche L, Pascual M, Gómez EA, Blasco A, 2014. Economic weights in rabbit meat production. World Rabbit Sci, 22(3): 165-177.
  • Cebeci Z, 2020. R ile veri önişleme. Nobel Akad Yay, Ankara, Türkiye, 1st ed., pp: 534.
  • Cebeci Z, Gökçe G, 2023. Genetikp ve genomik tahmin. Nobel Akad Yay, Ankara, Türkiye, 1st ed., pp: 610.
  • Dentine MR, 1992. Marker‐assisted selection in cattle. Anim Biotechnol, 3(1): 81-93.
  • El-Sabrout K, Aggag S, 2018. Association of melanocortin (MC4R) and myostatin (MSTN) genes with carcass quality in rabbit. Meat Sci, 137: 67-70.
  • Esmailizadeh AK, Bottema CDK, Sellick GS, Verbyla AP, Morris CA, Cullen NG, Pitchford WS, 2008. Effects of the myostatin F94L substitution on beef traits. J Anim Sci, 86(5): 1038-1046.
  • Fontanesi L, Tazzoli M, Scotti E, Russo V, 2008. Analysis of candidate genes for meat production traits in domestic rabbit breeds. In: Proc. 9th World Rabbit Congr., Verona, Italy, 10-13 June 2008, pp: 79-84.
  • Gibbs RA, 1990. DNA amplification by the polymerase chain reaction. Anal Chem, 62(13): 1202-1214.
  • Grisolia AB, D'Angelo GT, Porto Neto LR, Siqueira F, Garcia JF, 2009. Myostatin (GDF8) single nucleotide polymorphisms in Nellore cattle. Genet Mol Res, 8(3): 822-830.
  • Helal M, Hany N, Maged M, Abdelaziz M, Osama N, Younan YW, Ragab M, 2022. Candidate genes for marker-assisted selection for growth, carcass and meat quality traits in rabbits. Anim Biotechnol, 33(7): 1691-1710.
  • Hristova D, Tanchev S, Velikov K, Gonchev P, Georgieva S, 2017. Rabbit growth hormone and myostatin gene polymorphisms. J Agric Res, 2(3): 000133.
  • Klug SW, Cummings WR, 2000. Concept of Genetics. Prentice Hall, NJ, USA, pp: 745.
  • Langley B, Thomas M, Bishop A, Sharma M, Gilmour S, Kambadur R, 2002. Myostatin inhibits myoblast differentiation by down-regulating MyoD expression. J Biol Chem, 277(51): 49831-49840.
  • Lin X, Li B, Chen Y, Chen H, Liu M, 2022. KAT2B Gene polymorphisms are associated with body measure traits in four Chinese cattle breeds. Animals, 12(15): 1954.
  • Lukefahr SD, McNitt JI, Cheeke PR, Patton NM, 2022. Rabbit production worldwide. In: Lukefahr SD (ed.), Rabbit Production, CABI, 10th Ed., pp: 13-22.
  • Lv Q, Yuan L, Deng J, Chen M, Wang Y, Zeng J, Lai L, 2016. Efficient generation of myostatin gene mutated rabbit by CRISPR/Cas9. Sci Rep, 6(1): 25029.
  • Navratilova A, Požgajova M, Trakovicka A, Rafay J, 2018. Rabbit myostatine gene polymorphism (c.747+34C>T and c.194A>G) as a marker for meat production. J Cent Eur Agric, 19(4): 948-953.
  • Nistor E, Bampidis VA, Păcală N, Pentea M, Tozer J, Prundeanu H, 2013. Nutrient content of rabbit meat as compared to chicken, beef and pork meat. J Anim Prod Adv, 3(4): 172-176.
  • Olawumi S, 2014. Comparative study on rabbit breeds for post weaning growth traits in the humid tropics of Nigeria. Glob J Anim Sci Res, 2(1): 45-51.
  • Osman NM, Shafey HI, Abdelhafez MA, Sallam AM, Mahrous KF, 2021. Genetic variations in the Myostatin gene affecting growth traits in sheep. Vet World, 14(2): 475.
  • Peng J, Zhang GW, Zhang WX, Liu YF, Yang Y, Lai SJ, 2013. Rapid genotyping of MSTN gene polymorphism using high-resolution melting for association study in rabbits. Asian-Australas J Anim Sci, 26(1): 30-35.
  • R Core Team, 2024. R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Found Stat Comput, Vienna, Austria. URL: https://www.R-project.org (accessed date: May 17, 2024).
  • Ramadan SI, Manaa EA, El-Attrony ME, Nagar AE, 2020. Association of growth hormone (GH), insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF2) and progesterone receptor (PGR) genes with some productive traits in Gabali rabbits. World Rabbit Sci, 28(3): 135-144.
  • Rasmussen KLW, 2016. Investigation of variation in the promoter region of the myostatin gene (GDF-8) in New Zealand cattle. PhD thesis, Lincoln Univ, Lincoln, UK, pp: 35.
  • Safaa HM, Ragab M, Ahmed M, El-Gammal B, Helal M, 2023. Influence of polymorphisms in candidate genes on carcass and meat quality traits in rabbits. PLoS One, 18(11): e0294051.
  • Sanger F, Nicklen S, Coulson AR, 1977. DNA sequencing with chain-terminating inhibitors. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 74: 5463-5467.
  • Sarıçiçek Z, 1993. Tavşanların Beslenmesi. Tek Tavukç Derg, Tarım ve Köyişleri Bakanlığı Tavukçuluk Araştırma Enstitüsü Müdürlüğü, Sayı: 79, Ankara.
  • Schloerke B, Cook D, Larmarange J, Briatte F, Marbach M, Thoen E, Elberg A, Crowley J, 2024. GGally: Extension to 'ggplot2'. R package version 2.2.1. URL: https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=GGally (accessed date: June 12, 2024).
  • Shore H, 2000. General control charts for variables. Int J Prod Res, 38(8): 1875-1897.
  • Shore H, 2002. Modeling a response with self-generated and externally generated sources of variation. Qual Eng, 14(4): 563-578.
  • Sternstein I, Reissmann M, Maj D, Bieniek J, Brockmann GA, 2014. A new single nucleotide polymorphism in the rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) myostatin (MSTN) gene is associated with carcass composition traits. Anim Genet, 45(4): 596-599.
  • Thomas M, Langley B, Berry C, Sharma M, Kirk S, Bass J, Kambadur R, 2000. Myostatin, a negative regulator of muscle growth, functions by inhibiting myoblast proliferation. J Biol Chem, 275(51): 40235-40243.
  • Wallis OC, Wallis M, 1995. Cloning and characterization of the rabbit growth hormone-encoding gene. Gene, 163(2): 253-256.
  • Warnes G, Gorjanc WG, Leisch F, Man M, 2021. genetics: Population genetics. R package version 1.3.8.1.3. URL: https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=genetics (accessed date: June 24, 2024).
  • Wei T, Simko V, 2021. R package 'corrplot': Visualization of a Correlation Matrix (Version 0.92). URL: https://github.com/taiyun/corrplot (accessed date: August 15, 2024).
  • Yang LQ, Zhang K, Wu QY, Li J, Lai SJ, Song TZ, Zhang M, 2019. Identification of two novel single nucleotide polymorphism sites in the myostatin (MSTN) gene and their association with carcass traits in meat-type rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus). World Rabbit Sci, 27(4): 249-256.
  • Zhang T, Lu Y, Song S, Lu R, Zhou M, He Z, Cheng Y, 2019. Double-muscling and pelvic tilt phenomena in rabbits with the cystine-knot motif deficiency of myostatin on exon 3. Biosci Rep, 39(5): BSR20190207.

Molecular Determination of the Associations between Myostatin Gene and Some Growth Traits of Rabbits

Year 2025, Volume: 8 Issue: 3, 359 - 366, 15.05.2025

Hasan Batuhan Demircioğlu , Zeynel Cebeci

https://doi.org/10.47115/bsagriculture.1530496

Abstract

This study investigates the myostatin (MSTN) gene polymorphisms and their associations with some growth traits in New Zealand white rabbits. A substitution from cytosine (C) to thymine (T) was observed at base position 847 in the second intron region of the gene, and the genotypes TT and CT were attained only. Genotype frequencies were calculated as 47% for TT and 53% for CT, while allele frequencies were determined as 74% for T and 26% for C. The genotype was found to be not in Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium (χ²=7.27, P<0.01). The research revealed that the significant associations of MSTN gene polymorphism on some growth traits such as live weight, shoulder-to-tail length, front leg length, and chest circumference. Rabbits belongs to the TT genotype were found to have significantly higher live weight and front leg length compared to rabbits with the CT genotype, while rabbits with the CT genotype were found to be longer in shoulder-to-tail length and chest circumference compared to rabbits with the TT genotype. No statistically significant differences were found among the genotypes for other growth traits such as neck-to-shoulder length, hind leg length, and ear length. These findings suggest that MSTN gene polymorphism may influence certain growth traits in rabbits, and the observed genotypic differences, especially in traits such as live weight, shoulder-to-tail length, front leg length, and chest circumference, should be considered in genetic breeding programs. The findings of this study contributes to better understanding of the potential of MSTN gene polymorphisms in rabbit breeding programs.

Keywords

Myostatin Candidate gene Polymorphism Rabbit Growth traits

Ethical Statement

The authors confirm that the ethical policies of the journal, as noted on the journal's author guidelines page, have been adhered to. The experimental procedures were approved by the Local Animal Care and Ethics Committee of Çukurova University in Adana, Türkiye (Approval date: March 28, 2024 and protocol code:3).

Project Number

FYL-2022-15491

Thanks

This study was financially supported by the Scientific Research Unit of Çukurova University (ÇÜ BAP) with the project number FYL-2022-15491. This paper is partly based on the MSc thesis work by Hasan Demircioğlu, entitled "Molecular determination of the relationship between Myostatin (MSTN) and Insulin Growth Factor 2 (IGF-2) and growth characteristics in rabbits". We would like to thank our colleague Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mervan Bayraktar for his valuable help in laboratory studies for PCR and DNA extraction.

References

  • Abdel-Kafy EM, Darwish SF, Elkhishin D, 2016. Correlating single nucleotide polymorphisms in the myostatin gene with performance traits in rabbit. World Rabbit Sci, 24(3): 213-221.
  • Aiello D, Patel K, Lasagna E, 2018. The myostatin gene: an overview of mechanisms of action and its relevance to livestock animals. Anim Genet, 49(6): 505-519.
  • Bagnicka E, Siadkowska E, Strzałkowska N, Żelazowska B, Flisikowski K, Krzyżewski J, Zwierzchowski L, 2010. Association of polymorphisms in exons 2 and 10 of the insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF2) gene with milk production traits in Polish Holstein-Friesian cattle. J Dairy Res, 77(1): 37-42.
  • Berkowicz EW, Magee DA, Sikora KM, Berry DP, Howard DJ, Mullen MP, MacHugh DE, 2011. Single nucleotide polymorphisms at the imprinted bovine insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF2) locus are associated with dairy performance in Irish Holstein-Friesian cattle. J Dairy Res, 78(1): 1-8.
  • Bindu KA, Raveendran A, Antony S, Raghunandanan KV, 2011. Association of myostatin gene (MSTN) polymorphism with economic traits in rabbits. In: Pérez-Cabal MÁ, Gutiérrez JP, Cervantes I, Alcalde MJ (eds.), Fibre Production in South American Camelids and Other Fibre Animals. Wageningen Acad Publ, Wageningen. https://doi.org/10.3920/978-90-8686-727-1_16.
  • Cartuche L, Pascual M, Gómez EA, Blasco A, 2014. Economic weights in rabbit meat production. World Rabbit Sci, 22(3): 165-177.
  • Cebeci Z, 2020. R ile veri önişleme. Nobel Akad Yay, Ankara, Türkiye, 1st ed., pp: 534.
  • Cebeci Z, Gökçe G, 2023. Genetikp ve genomik tahmin. Nobel Akad Yay, Ankara, Türkiye, 1st ed., pp: 610.
  • Dentine MR, 1992. Marker‐assisted selection in cattle. Anim Biotechnol, 3(1): 81-93.
  • El-Sabrout K, Aggag S, 2018. Association of melanocortin (MC4R) and myostatin (MSTN) genes with carcass quality in rabbit. Meat Sci, 137: 67-70.
  • Esmailizadeh AK, Bottema CDK, Sellick GS, Verbyla AP, Morris CA, Cullen NG, Pitchford WS, 2008. Effects of the myostatin F94L substitution on beef traits. J Anim Sci, 86(5): 1038-1046.
  • Fontanesi L, Tazzoli M, Scotti E, Russo V, 2008. Analysis of candidate genes for meat production traits in domestic rabbit breeds. In: Proc. 9th World Rabbit Congr., Verona, Italy, 10-13 June 2008, pp: 79-84.
  • Gibbs RA, 1990. DNA amplification by the polymerase chain reaction. Anal Chem, 62(13): 1202-1214.
  • Grisolia AB, D'Angelo GT, Porto Neto LR, Siqueira F, Garcia JF, 2009. Myostatin (GDF8) single nucleotide polymorphisms in Nellore cattle. Genet Mol Res, 8(3): 822-830.
  • Helal M, Hany N, Maged M, Abdelaziz M, Osama N, Younan YW, Ragab M, 2022. Candidate genes for marker-assisted selection for growth, carcass and meat quality traits in rabbits. Anim Biotechnol, 33(7): 1691-1710.
  • Hristova D, Tanchev S, Velikov K, Gonchev P, Georgieva S, 2017. Rabbit growth hormone and myostatin gene polymorphisms. J Agric Res, 2(3): 000133.
  • Klug SW, Cummings WR, 2000. Concept of Genetics. Prentice Hall, NJ, USA, pp: 745.
  • Langley B, Thomas M, Bishop A, Sharma M, Gilmour S, Kambadur R, 2002. Myostatin inhibits myoblast differentiation by down-regulating MyoD expression. J Biol Chem, 277(51): 49831-49840.
  • Lin X, Li B, Chen Y, Chen H, Liu M, 2022. KAT2B Gene polymorphisms are associated with body measure traits in four Chinese cattle breeds. Animals, 12(15): 1954.
  • Lukefahr SD, McNitt JI, Cheeke PR, Patton NM, 2022. Rabbit production worldwide. In: Lukefahr SD (ed.), Rabbit Production, CABI, 10th Ed., pp: 13-22.
  • Lv Q, Yuan L, Deng J, Chen M, Wang Y, Zeng J, Lai L, 2016. Efficient generation of myostatin gene mutated rabbit by CRISPR/Cas9. Sci Rep, 6(1): 25029.
  • Navratilova A, Požgajova M, Trakovicka A, Rafay J, 2018. Rabbit myostatine gene polymorphism (c.747+34C>T and c.194A>G) as a marker for meat production. J Cent Eur Agric, 19(4): 948-953.
  • Nistor E, Bampidis VA, Păcală N, Pentea M, Tozer J, Prundeanu H, 2013. Nutrient content of rabbit meat as compared to chicken, beef and pork meat. J Anim Prod Adv, 3(4): 172-176.
  • Olawumi S, 2014. Comparative study on rabbit breeds for post weaning growth traits in the humid tropics of Nigeria. Glob J Anim Sci Res, 2(1): 45-51.
  • Osman NM, Shafey HI, Abdelhafez MA, Sallam AM, Mahrous KF, 2021. Genetic variations in the Myostatin gene affecting growth traits in sheep. Vet World, 14(2): 475.
  • Peng J, Zhang GW, Zhang WX, Liu YF, Yang Y, Lai SJ, 2013. Rapid genotyping of MSTN gene polymorphism using high-resolution melting for association study in rabbits. Asian-Australas J Anim Sci, 26(1): 30-35.
  • R Core Team, 2024. R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Found Stat Comput, Vienna, Austria. URL: https://www.R-project.org (accessed date: May 17, 2024).
  • Ramadan SI, Manaa EA, El-Attrony ME, Nagar AE, 2020. Association of growth hormone (GH), insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF2) and progesterone receptor (PGR) genes with some productive traits in Gabali rabbits. World Rabbit Sci, 28(3): 135-144.
  • Rasmussen KLW, 2016. Investigation of variation in the promoter region of the myostatin gene (GDF-8) in New Zealand cattle. PhD thesis, Lincoln Univ, Lincoln, UK, pp: 35.
  • Safaa HM, Ragab M, Ahmed M, El-Gammal B, Helal M, 2023. Influence of polymorphisms in candidate genes on carcass and meat quality traits in rabbits. PLoS One, 18(11): e0294051.
  • Sanger F, Nicklen S, Coulson AR, 1977. DNA sequencing with chain-terminating inhibitors. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 74: 5463-5467.
  • Sarıçiçek Z, 1993. Tavşanların Beslenmesi. Tek Tavukç Derg, Tarım ve Köyişleri Bakanlığı Tavukçuluk Araştırma Enstitüsü Müdürlüğü, Sayı: 79, Ankara.
  • Schloerke B, Cook D, Larmarange J, Briatte F, Marbach M, Thoen E, Elberg A, Crowley J, 2024. GGally: Extension to 'ggplot2'. R package version 2.2.1. URL: https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=GGally (accessed date: June 12, 2024).
  • Shore H, 2000. General control charts for variables. Int J Prod Res, 38(8): 1875-1897.
  • Shore H, 2002. Modeling a response with self-generated and externally generated sources of variation. Qual Eng, 14(4): 563-578.
  • Sternstein I, Reissmann M, Maj D, Bieniek J, Brockmann GA, 2014. A new single nucleotide polymorphism in the rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) myostatin (MSTN) gene is associated with carcass composition traits. Anim Genet, 45(4): 596-599.
  • Thomas M, Langley B, Berry C, Sharma M, Kirk S, Bass J, Kambadur R, 2000. Myostatin, a negative regulator of muscle growth, functions by inhibiting myoblast proliferation. J Biol Chem, 275(51): 40235-40243.
  • Wallis OC, Wallis M, 1995. Cloning and characterization of the rabbit growth hormone-encoding gene. Gene, 163(2): 253-256.
  • Warnes G, Gorjanc WG, Leisch F, Man M, 2021. genetics: Population genetics. R package version 1.3.8.1.3. URL: https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=genetics (accessed date: June 24, 2024).
  • Wei T, Simko V, 2021. R package 'corrplot': Visualization of a Correlation Matrix (Version 0.92). URL: https://github.com/taiyun/corrplot (accessed date: August 15, 2024).
  • Yang LQ, Zhang K, Wu QY, Li J, Lai SJ, Song TZ, Zhang M, 2019. Identification of two novel single nucleotide polymorphism sites in the myostatin (MSTN) gene and their association with carcass traits in meat-type rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus). World Rabbit Sci, 27(4): 249-256.
  • Zhang T, Lu Y, Song S, Lu R, Zhou M, He Z, Cheng Y, 2019. Double-muscling and pelvic tilt phenomena in rabbits with the cystine-knot motif deficiency of myostatin on exon 3. Biosci Rep, 39(5): BSR20190207.
There are 42 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects Agricultural Engineering (Other)
Journal Section Research Articles
Authors

Hasan Batuhan Demircioğlu 0009-0007-3235-5403

Zeynel Cebeci 0000-0002-7641-7094

Project Number FYL-2022-15491
Publication Date May 15, 2025
Submission Date February 17, 2025
Acceptance Date April 9, 2025
Published in Issue Year 2025 Volume: 8 Issue: 3

Cite

APA Demircioğlu, H. B., & Cebeci, Z. (2025). Molecular Determination of the Associations between Myostatin Gene and Some Growth Traits of Rabbits. Black Sea Journal of Agriculture, 8(3), 359-366. https://doi.org/10.47115/bsagriculture.1530496
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