| Abstract: | The objective of this study was to determine the genotype effects of the bovine insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) and its binding protein 3 (IGFBP3) genes on growth and development traits in beef cows,including 130 Chinese Simmental,42 Nanyang,and 47 Luxi Yellow cattle.Sequence variations in the bovine IGF-I and IGFBP3 genes were investigated by single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP).SSCPs were detected in 6 fragments,which is the 5'-flanking region,the 2nd exon,the 5th exon,and the 5th intron of the IGF-I gene,and the 2nd exon,the 3rd exon of the IGFBP3 gene.Two polymorphisms,an A-to-G transition in the 2nd exon of the IGF-I gene and a T-to-C transition in the 2nd exon of IGFBP3 gene were detected in 3 breeds.The allele frequencies of 2 polymorphisms were 0.0411 (A),0.9589 (B),and 0.7237 (A),0.2763 (B),respectively.These 2 loci were analyzed to associate with body weight,height at withers,body length,heart girth,rump width,and beef production index (BPI) at 0,6,12,24,and 36-month old.The 1GFBP3 locus was shown to be associated with rump width,heart girth at 24-month and 36-month.Animals with BB genotype had higher rump width (24.86±0.47) cm at 24-month and (27.50±0.63) cm at 36-month.The heart girth was highest for the individuals with BB genotype (171.33±1.84) cm and higher than those with AB genotype (166.68±1.13) cm (P＜0.05) at 36-month. |
