Association of a lysine-232/alanine polymorphism in a bovine gene encoding acyl-CoA:diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT1) with variation at a quantitative trait locus for milk fat content.

ABSTRACT: DGAT1 encodes diacylglycerol O-acyltransferase (EC ), a microsomal enzyme that catalyzes the final step of triglyceride synthesis. It became a functional candidate gene for lactation traits after studies indicated that mice lacking both copies of DGAT1 are completely devoid of milk secretion, most likely because of deficient triglyceride synthesis in the mammary gland. Our mapping studies placed DGAT1 close to the region of a quantitative trait locus (QTL) on bovine chromosome 14 for variation in fat content of milk. Sequencing of DGAT1 from pooled DNA revealed significant frequency shifts at several variable positions between groups of animals with high and low breeding values for milk fat content in different breeds (Holstein-Friesian, Fleckvieh, and Braunvieh). Among the variants was a

SUBMITTER: Winter A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC123135 | biostudies-literature | 2002 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature