Effects of GPR157 Gene Copy Number Variation on Growth Traits of Four Chinese Local Goat Breeds

Abstract Copy number variation is caused by the rearrangement of the genome, and it has gradually become a method to study the effect of gene polymorphism on gene expression.The effects of genetic polymorphisms on livestock development are increasingly important in molecular breeding.Chinese goats have the advantages of high reproductive rate and good environmental adaptability, but there are still some obvious defects in the growth and development of goats, such as poor meat production performance and slow growth. In order to improve the growth performance and market competitiveness of Chinese goats and promote the development of Chinese goat industry, a lot of research has been done on effective molecular markers. In this study, qPCR and data association analysis were used to detect and analyze the correlation effect of GPR157 gene copy number variation in Chinese goats. The results showed that the GPR157 gene had a significant effect on the growth traits of four Chinese goats, and it was the basic material and effective information for molecular marker breeding of goats. GPR157 is a G protein-coupled receptor located on the primary cilia of RGPs in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and can bind to Gq-like G proteins through GPR157-Gq-IP3 signaling and participate in neuronal differentiation. The research of GPR157 gene mainly focuses on neurodevelopment and diseases such as high myopia, and there are few studies on animal breeding.In this study, 633 blood samples were collected from five Chinese goat breeds (Guizhou black goat, GB; Guizhou white goat, GW; Taihang black goat, TB; Bohuai hybrid goat, GH; and Henan Huai goat, HH) for GPR157 gene CNV type detection. The correlation between CNV types and growth traits was analyzed by SPSS 26.0 software and analysis of variance.The results showed that the distribution of different copy number types in different breeds of goats was different.In GH sheep, the frequency of deletion type is higher than other breeds, close to 50%, in HH sheep, the frequency of deletion type is close to 40%; in TH sheep, the frequency of duplication type exceeds 80%; in and BH sheep The frequency is slightly higher than GB, about 23%,Association analysis showed that the CNV of the GPR157 gene had a positive effect on the growth and development of goats:In GH sheep, individuals with deletion copy number performed better than copy copy number individuals in terms of body height and length ( P < 0.01). The functional role and molecular mechanism of GPR157 gene in animal growth and development are still unclear, and further research is needed. This study aims to provide basic materials for molecular breeding of Chinese goats.