›› 2012, Vol. 39 ›› Issue (6): 149-152.

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Association of Polymorphism in MC1R Gene at Site 248 with Chestnut Coat Color in Three Chinese Horse Breeds

DANG Zhen1,3, WANG Jia-fu1, ZHAO Xing-yan1, HUANG Yong1,2, TIAN Song-jun1,2, WANG Rong-ming2, RAN Xue-qin1   

  1. 1. College of Animal Science, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China;
    2. Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Bureau of Ziyun County, Ziyun 561600, China;
    3. Chongqing Police Bureau, Chongqing 404100, China
  • Received:2011-12-06 Online:2012-06-20 Published:2012-07-02

Abstract: A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) at site 248 of melanocortin receptor 1 gene (MC1R) is known from European horse breeds, in which the homozygous genotype (ee) is related with the chestnut coat color of European horse individuals. To confirm the polymorphism of site 248 of MC1R gene in Chinese horse, three horse breeds of Guizhou pony, Southwest horse and Ili horse were chosen as samples with coat color of three monochromatic (chestnut, black, bay) and three kinds of complex coat color. Two pairs specific primers were designed. Two fragments, 124 and 481 bp, were amplificated by allele-specific polymerase chain reaction (AS-PCR) method. The polymorphism of site 248 in MC1R gene was further approved by cloning and sequencing of the DNA fragments. The results showed that genotypes of all samples with coat color of chestnut were heterozygous genotype (Ee). However, the genotypes of other samples were Ee either, in which the coat colors included bay, black, grey, spotted but not chestnut. It suggested that the SNP at site 248 of MC1R gene might be unrelated with the chestnut coat color in native Chinese horse breeds.

Key words: Guizhou pony; Southwest horse; Ili horse; coat color; MC1R gene

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