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Department of Dairy Science, University of WisconsinMadison, Madison 53706
1 Corresponding author: hkhatib{at}wisc.edu
| ABSTRACT |
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Key Words: signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 signal transduction quantitative trait candidate gene
| INTRODUCTION |
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The physiological roles of STAT proteins were originally defined by knockout experiments in mice. STAT4-deficient mice gave defects in IL-12-mediated functions, including increases in IFN-
production and signaling, cellular proliferation, and T helper 1 cell differentiation (Akira, 1999). STAT5 consists of 2 highly related genes, which are 96% similar at the AA level. STAT5 and STAT3 activation may play critical roles in the regulation of growth, differentiation, and apoptosis (Bromberg, 2000). Some evidence exists that STAT1 is involved in the development and differentiation of the mammary gland. Boutinaud and Jammes (2004) measured the expression levels of STAT1, STAT3, and STAT5 in the mammary gland of lactating goats and found that the expression of these genes was regulated by growth hormone. Stewart et al. (1999) studied the regulation of STAT expression by effectors of adipocyte differentiation. They found that STAT1, STAT5A, and STAT5B were not exclusively regulated by individual effectors of differentiation, but their expression was tightly correlated with lipid accumulation. Studies on the expression of STAT in different tissues and at different developmental stages have shown that STAT1 and STAT3 are constitutively expressed at constant levels through pregnancy, lactation, and involution, whereas STAT4 and STAT5 are developmentally regulated (Watson, 2001). Moreover, Watson (2001) found that STAT1 is regulated during mammary gland development and apoptosis and that this constitutively active gene is an oncogene in the mammary gland.
The positional and functional candidate gene approaches have been applied to different genes in dairy cattle. The first positional cloning of a QTL in cattlethe DGAT1 gene that is associated with milk fat yieldwas reported by Grisart et al. (2002). Recently, Cohen-Zinder et al. (2005) identified a missense mutation in the bovine ABCG2 gene that affects milk yield and composition in Holstein cattle. The osteopontin gene has been reported to be associated with milk protein percentage in 2 different studies (Leonard et al., 2005; Schnabel et al., 2005).
The bovine STAT1 maps to chromosome 2 at interval 60 to 63 cM (Band et al., 2000). Whole-genome scans have shown significant associations between production traits and microsatellite markers in the vicinity of STAT1 (Mosig et al., 2001; Ashwell et al., 2004; Ron et al., 2004). These QTL studies, along with the studies on the function, involvement, and expression of STAT1 in the mammary gland, prompted us to investigate the effects of this gene on production traits in dairy cattle.
| MATERIALS AND METHODS |
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Statistical Analysis
The CDDR Population.
A weighted least squares analysis was used to study the effects of STAT1 variants on milk production traits in the CDDR population. The model was
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where yij is the DYD of the trait for son j of sire i, sirei is the fixed effect of sire i, ß is the regression coefficient representing one-half the allele substitution effect (
/2); xij is the number of C alleles (0, 1, or 2) for the jth son of sire i, and eij is the residual. Reliabilities of the sons DYD were incorporated as weights in the model to obtain weighted least squares estimates for the allele substitution effects.
The UW Resource Population.
For the daughters in the UW resource population, allelic and genotypic effects of STAT1 were analyzed using both Models [1] and [2]. Model [2] was
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where yijkl is the yield deviation (milk, fat, protein) of daughter l of sire j, µ is the mean, genotypei is the effect of daughter genotype i (CC, CT, TT), sirej is the sire j effect, MapK is Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis infection status (noninfected = 0, infected = 1), and eijkl is the residual. Two diagnostic tests, ELISA antibody and fecal culture for the pathogen, were done to determine infection status. Infection status was positive for cows that were positive for either test. The additive genetic effect was estimated as one-half the difference between the 2 homozygous genotypes. Similarly, the dominance genetic effect was estimated as the difference between the average of the 2 homozygous genotypes and the heterozygous genotype. The TT genotype was set as the baseline for estimating the genotypic effects.
| RESULTS |
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Frequency of the C allele was 0.66 in both the CDDR and the UW resource populations. Genotype frequencies were as expected for the HardyWeinberg equilibrium. Table 2
shows the estimated regression coefficients on the number of copies of the C allele (one-half the allele substitution effects,
/2) in the CDDR and the UW resource populations. For the CDDR population, a significant effect of STAT1 variants on milk fat percentage (P = 0.033) and milk protein percentage (P = 0.042) was found in across-family analysis (Table 2
). The estimated increase in milk fat percentage of the C allele was 0.01%. The C allele was also associated with an increase in milk protein percentage compared with the T allele (Table 2
). The C allele seems to be associated with an increase in SCS compared with the T allele, with borderline significance (Table 2
). For the UW resource population, the C allele was associated with an increase in milk protein yield (P = 0.048) compared with the T allele.
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| DISCUSSION |
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The pooled DNA sequencing approach has been used in several studies both for polymorphism identification and for estimation of allele frequencies in pooled DNA or RNA samples. Kwok et al. (1994) reported the identification of SNP with >20% allele frequency for the minor allele. In previous studies, pooled DNA and RNA samples were used to identify SNP in coding and noncoding regions in candidate genes affecting milk production traits (Khatib et al., 2005; Khatib et al., 2006). In this study, using the pooled DNA sequence-based method, one SNP (C/T) was detected in a total length of 610 bp. This SNP was significantly associated with an increase in milk yield and composition traits in both the CDDR and UW resource populations.
For the CDDR population, using the allele substitution model, the C allele was associated with an increase in milk fat percentage and milk protein percentage. The correlation between these 2 traits was 0.57 (Khatib et al., 2005). When the same statistical model was used in the UW resource population, allele C was associated with an increase in milk protein yield. No data on percentage traits were available in the UW resource population. Moreover, in this population, the estimates of the genotypic effects (CC and CT vs. TT genotypes) were consistent with the estimates of the allele substitution effects, so there was no contradiction between the effects observed in the CDDR and UW resource populations. The significant association between genotypes CC and CT and yield traits in the UW resource population indicates a large biological effect associated with the contrast among these genotypes. The small effects obtained in the allele substitution model compared with the large effects obtained in the genotypic model were due to the high frequency of allele C in the population. Thus, when the allele substitution model was used in both populations and the modes of gene action were analyzed in the UW resource population, STAT1 variants were associated with an increase in milk yield and composition traits.
Results from this study are consistent with other studies that have shown significant association of genetic markers with milk composition traits in the region of STAT1 (interval 60 to 63 cM). Mosig et al. (2001) reported a putative QTL affecting milk protein percentage in linkage with microsatellite marker BMS1126 at position 61.7 cM from the centromere. In addition, Ashwell et al. (2004) reported a QTL affecting milk fat percentage in linkage with microsatellites ETH121 and BM4440 at the interval 38.0 to 60.3 cM. Also, Ron et al. (2004) reported a QTL affecting milk protein percentage at the interval 61.7 to 70 cM from the centromere.
The observed associations of bovine STAT1 with milk production traits were not surprising for the following reasons: 1) The expression of STAT1 is under control of the hormone prolactin. Following binding of prolactin to its receptor, a cascade of events is initiated that leads to activation of the STAT1, STAT3, and STAT5 proteins, which in turn regulate the transcription of genes involved in secretion of milk proteins and components (Tucker, 2000; Bole-Feysot et al., 2005). 2) There is evidence that the STAT genes might be important for the regulation of fat metabolism and milk protein synthesis, probably through the prolactin signal transduction pathway operating in the mammary gland (Mao et al., 2002). Our results show that STAT1 was associated with milk fat and protein yields and percentages. 3) Interferons regulate cellular antiviral, antiproliferative, and immunological responses. STAT1 has been shown to be essential for cell growth suppression in response to IFN-
(Akira, 1999). Moreover, Stat1-deficient mice were reported to be highly sensitive to infection by pathogens and to develop tumors more frequently than normal mice (Akira, 1999; Watson, 2001). These studies indicate that STAT1 may have roles in the immune response. Results from this study on the effect of STAT1 on somatic cells in milk, an indicator for mammary gland health in cows, are consistent with reported functions of this gene in the immune response of the human and mouse.
Recently, we used positional and functional candidate gene analysis to search for candidate genes affecting milk production traits. A significant association was found between different haplotypes of the protease inhibitor gene and several production traits in Holstein dairy cattle, including milk yield, milk fat yield, and SCS (Khatib et al., 2005). Using this approach, we also analyzed the oxidized low-density lipoprotein receptor (OLR1) as a candidate gene affecting milk production traits (Khatib et al., 2006). One SNP in the 3' UTR was associated with significant increases in milk fat yield and milk fat percentage.
The complete sequence of the bovine STAT1 has not yet been validated by the Baylor College of Medicines Human Genome Sequencing Center. Thus, it would be important to characterize the genomic structure of the gene, identify more SNP, and search for causative polymorphism(s) associated with production traits. However, whether the C/T SNP in the 3' UTR of the gene is the actual causative mutation affecting milk composition traits, STAT1 is the causative gene, or the SNP is in linkage disequilibrium with other gene(s) affecting these traits, we consider this STAT1 SNP a strong candidate for marker-assisted selection programs in dairy cattle. Marker-assisted selection can increase allele frequencies of the favorable alleles within a relatively few generations of selection, as has been demonstrated for the cal-pain and calpastatin genes in beef cattle (Pollak, 2005).
| ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS |
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Received for publication March 19, 2006. Accepted for publication May 29, 2006.
| REFERENCES |
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-encoding gene in the mammary gland. J. Mol. Endocrinol. 29:7388.[Abstract]
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