Author(s)

Bin Tong, Narumi Fuke, Yui Himizu, Hiroyuki Katou, Masato Hatano, Takeshi Ohta, Hiroyuki Kose, Takahisa Yamada

Central Pharmaceutical Research Institute, Japan Tobacco, Inc., Takatsuki, Japan.
Department of Life Science, Division of Natural Sciences, International Christian University, Mitaka, Japan.
Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Niigata University, Niigata, Japan.
Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Niigata University, Niigata, Japan;.
Niigata Prefectural Headquarters, National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Association, Niigata, Japan.

Marbling, defined by the amount and the distribution of intramuscular fat and measured as beef marbling score (BMS), is an economically important trait of beef cattle in Japan. We recently reported that a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), namely, c.-312A > G, in the endothelial differentiation sphingolipid G-proteincoupled receptor, 1 (EDG1) gene was associated with the BMS level in the Japanese Black beef cattle population of Oita prefecture, with the G allele being associated with a high level of the BMS. Thus, the c.-312A > G SNP seems to be a candidate marker for marker-assisted selection. In this study, we investigated whether this association could be replicated in the Japanese Black beef cattle population of Niigata prefecture and analyzed the effect of the SNP genotypes on the carcass traits other than the BMS. No significant differences in the BMS level were detected among the genotypes of the c.-312A > G SNP in the Niigata Japanese Black beef cattle population. The SNP genotype had no significant effects on the carcass weight, rib eye area and rib thickness of the cattle population. These findings suggested that the association of the c.-312A > G SNP with the BMS level in the Japanese Black beef cattle population was not replicated in the Niigata population, and revealed no effects of the SNP genotype on the beef productivity in the Niigata population. Thus, we concluded that the c.-312A > G SNP is not useful for effective marker-assisted selection to increase meat quality and, additionally, meat productivity in Japanese Black beef cattle of Niigata prefecture.

Association; EDG1; Japanese Black Breed; Marbling; Replication Study; Single Nucleotide Polymorphism

Tong, B. , Fuke, N. , Himizu, Y. , Katou, H. , Hatano, M. , Ohta, T. , Kose, H. and Yamada, T. (2013) No replicated association of the c.-312A > G in EDG1 with marbling in Niigata population of Japanese Black beef cattle. Open Journal of Animal Sciences, 3, 269-272. doi: 10.4236/ojas.2013.34040.