Association of SLIT3 and ZNF280B Gene Polymorphisms with Wool Fiber Diameter

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Wool is an important raw material in the textile industry. Its fiber fineness is directly related to the wool product quality. Higher quality wool products require finer wool fiber diameters. Therefore, methods for more effectively optimizing the wool fiber diameter have become an important research focus. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are efficient and stable molecular markers which have been extensively used to study wool fiber diameter. The SLIT3 and ZNF280B genes are involved in multiple biological processes and have multiple biological functions. However, the relationship between their polymorphisms and wool fiber diameter remains unreported. This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between different genotypes and wool fiber diameter by typing SNP sites in SLIT3 and ZNF280B. Our results revealed the major genotypes in the SLIT3 and ZNF280B genes which effect wool fiber diameter. These SNP sites may potentially be used as molecular marker sites for optimizing wool fiber diameter. ABSTRACT: The SLIT3 gene encodes a secreted protein, and the ZNF280B gene is a member of the transcription factor family. Both genes have multiple biological functions. This study was conducted to investigate the association between SLIT3 and ZNF280B gene polymorphisms and wool fiber diameter and to determine potential molecular marker sites for breeding sheep with fine wool. We used Kompetitive Allele-Specific PCR to type the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) loci in the SLIT3 and ZNF280B genes within 1081 Alpine Merino sheep and associated these SNPs with wool fiber diameter. The results revealed one SNP in SLIT3 and ZNF280B, which were each related to sheep fiber diameter. The wool fiber diameters of sheep with the CC genotype in SLIT3 g.478807C>G and AA genotype in ZNF280B g.677G>A were the smallest and differed significantly from the diameters of other genotypes (p < 0.05). These results suggest potential molecular marker sites for fine-wool sheep breeding.