Analysis of the ligand-dependent nuclear receptor gene of corepressor type polymorphism in reindeer

In Russia, the reindeer is a farm animal. Four breeds of reindeer (Even, Evenk, Nenets, Chukchi) were developed and are actively used in the Arctic zone of Russia. The most widespread and numerous breeds of deer bred in the Arctic zone of Russia are the Nenets and Evenk. They differ significantly in size and body weight, as well as in the habitat zone, as the Nenets breed lives in the tundra zone, the Evenk breed in the taiga. In addition, there are large populations of wild reindeer in the Arctic zone. Studies in the field of genetics of meat productivity of farm animals have identified several genes that determine the formation and development of muscle mass. Polymorphism in the LCORL gene is associated with indicators of body size in various mammalian species. The aim of this study was to detect variants of the genetic polymorphism of the coding region of the LCORL gene in domesticated reindeer. LCORL (mRNA ligand-dependent nuclear receptor type co-repressor) is a transcription factor located in the nucleus and uses a conserved helix-turn-helix motif for DNA binding. Studies of two regions of exon 7 of the LCORL gene in individuals of wild and domestic reindeer revealed the presence of seven single nucleotide polymorphisms, six of which are not synonymous, that is, leading to amino acid substitution in the protein sequence. The difference in the frequencies of wild-type and mutant alleles between individuals of wild and two breeds of domesticated reindeer indicates the presence of selection pressure on the region of the LCORL gene and indirectly confirms the influence of genetic variability of this locus on the phenotypic variability of growth and body size in reindeer. Given the analogies with studies of the influence of the LCORL gene on size traits in other animal species, it can be assumed that some polymorphisms in the studied area may be true causal quantitative trait loci (QTL) in domestic reindeer.

reindeer, SNP, body weight, LCORL, genotype, alleles

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