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. 2025 May;38(5):910-928.
doi: 10.5713/ab.24.0499. Epub 2025 Jan 16.

Genetic polymorphisms in HMGCS1 gene and its association with slaughter characteristics, meat quality, and organ coefficients in Guizhou white goats

Bo Zhou  1   2   3 , Jiaqi Chen  1   2   3 , Ziyang Li  1   2   3 , Huan Liu  1   2   3 , Jiali Xu  1   2   3 , Houqiang Xu  1   2   3 , Yong Ruan  1   2   3
Affiliations

Genetic polymorphisms in HMGCS1 gene and its association with slaughter characteristics, meat quality, and organ coefficients in Guizhou white goats

Bo Zhou et al. Anim Biosci. 2025 May.

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to identify polymorphisms in the gene encoding the 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA synthase 1, HMGCS1, and analyze their association with slaughter characteristics, meat quality, and organ coefficients in Guizhou white goats.

Methods: A total of 153 twelve-month-old Guizhou white goats (78 male and 75 female) were included in the study. Slaughter characteristics, meat quality, and organ coefficients were assessed. Association analyses between genotypes and phenotypic traits were conducted using a generalized linear model.

Results: Four polymorphic loci were identified, i.e., g.15523T>C, g.15530G>C, g.18413T>C, g.19711G>A in exons 5, 8, and 9 of the HMGCS1 gene. Across all polymorphic loci, males of the same genotype generally exhibited significantly better slaughter traits compared to females of the same genotype (p<0.05). At the g.18413T>C locus, differences in shear force were observed between males and females of the same genotype and within the same sex across different genotypes (p<0.05). Organ coefficients were significantly higher in males of the same genotype compared to females (p<0.05). The g.15523T>C and g.15530G>C loci were found in strong linkage disequilibrium and significantly associated with intramuscular fat content (p<0.05). Fat content in diploid Hap2/2 individuals was significantly higher than in Hap1/1 and Hap1/2 (p<0.05). At the g.19711G>A locus, female goats with the CC genotype showed significantly higher levels of dry matter compared to male goats of the same genotype and female goats of other genotypes within the group. Organ coefficients for the liver and hooves in male goats were significantly higher than in females of the same genotype (p<0.05).

Conclusion: The strongly linked loci g.15523T>C and g.15530G>C were significantly associated with intramuscular fat content and could be used as molecular markers for enhancing this trait in goat breeding programs, fostering the development of goat production.

Keywords: Genetic Polymorphism; Guizhou White Goats; HMGCS1 Gene; Meat Quality; Organ Coefficients; Slaughter Characteristics.

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Conflict of interest statement

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
SNP locus of HMGCS1 in Guizhou white goat. (A) g.15523 T>C. (B) g.15530 G>C. (C) g.18413 T>C. (D) g.19711 G>A. SNP, single nucleotide polymorphism.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Alignment of wild-type and mutant HMGCS1 amino acid sequences. Red box shows the synonymous SNP. SNP, single nucleotide polymorphism.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Analysis of linkage disequilibrium. r2 represents the correlation between a pair of loci, and D′ denotes the difference between the observed and the expected frequency of a given haplotype.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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