A novel SNP of the GHRL gene in goat and its association with growth traits

Ghrelin, an endogenous gland for growth hormone secretagogue receptor, has been shown to stimulate food intake and control energy homeostasis and lipid metabolism. So, ghrelin precursor (GHRL) gene is a potential candidate gene for caprine growth traits. In this study, we detected the polymorphism of the caprine GHRL gene by PCR–SSCP and DNA sequencing methods in 459 individuals from four goat breeds. A novel single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) (IVS2 + 147G >A) was detected. Frequencies of IVS2 + 147G allele varied from 0.842 to 1.000. The association of IVS2 + 147G >A with growth traits was analyzed and IVS2 + 147G >A was shown to be associated with growth traits. Individuals with genotype AG were significantly higher than those of individuals with genotype GG in circumference of chest and cannon and trunk index (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). Moreover, there was a tendency that genotype AG individuals had better performance in other aspects such as body height and body length than genotype GG individuals although no significant differences appeared (P > 0.05). We suggested that IVS2 + 147G >A could be a perfect molecular marker in marker-assisted selection (MAS).