Title: Polymorphisms in exon 8 of bovine PLCZ1 gene and their association with semen quality in Sahiwal bulls

Authors: S Kumari, ID Gupta, A Verma, MR Vineeth and A Magotra

Source: Ruminant Science (2017)-6(2):201-206.

Cite this reference as: Kumari S, Gupta ID, Verma A, Vineeth MR and Magotra A (2017). Polymorphisms in exon 8 of bovine PLCZ1 gene and their association with semen quality in Sahiwal bulls. Ruminant Science 6(2):201-206.

Abstract

In dairy cattle, even though both bulls and cows contribute to reproductive efficiency, the bull fertility has been given very less consideration as compared to females. Although fertility is a composite trait, functional and structural analyses of semen can be used to predict the fertility status of bull. The present study was carried out to identify the genetic polymorphism in exon 8 of bovine PLCZ1 gene and to analyze their association with semen quality traits in Sahiwal bulls. Blood samples were collected from 31 Sahiwal bulls maintained at Artificial Breeding Research Centre, ICAR-NDRI, Karnal and genomic DNA was isolated. The exon 8 region of PLCZ1 gene was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using custom designed primers. The products were Sanger sequenced and analysed for variations using multiple sequence alignment. Sequence analysis revealed only one SNP (C91799202G) (as compared to Bos taurus reference sequence). The identified SNP was genotyped using PCR-RFLP-AvaII assay. Functional analysis revealed it to be a missense variation resulting in alanine to proline change. Phyre2 tools predicted the SNP to be located in X-Y linker domain. SIFT analysis of the SNP showed the nucleotide change to be tolerated one. The SNP (C91799202G) was found to be significantly associated (P<0.05) with sperm viability and plasma membrane integrity. Bulls with genotype GG had lowest mean viability and plasma membrane integrity and differed significantly from other genotypes. These results suggest that the identified SNP can be used as a potential marker for semen quality in Sahiwal bulls.

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