Leptin promoter polymorphisms and uses thereof

Abstract

The present invention relates to single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the leptin promoter, and to methods for the identification of animals carrying specific alleles of these SNPs that are associated with circulating leptin levels, feed intake, growth rate, body weight, carcass merit and carcass composition. The present invention provides oligonucleotides that can be used as primers and/or probes to amplify and/or detect these SNPs, and provides methods for selecting and grouping animals, in particular bovines, according to genotype.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS / PATENTS & INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE [0001] This application claims priority to provisional U.S. application Ser. No. 60 / 546,456 filed Feb. 19, 2004, the contents of which are hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference.[0002] Each of the applications and patents cited in this text, as well as each document or reference cited in each of the applications and patents (including during the prosecution of each issued patent; “application cited documents”), and each of the PCT and foreign applications or patents corresponding to and / or claiming priority from any of these applications and patents, and each of the documents cited or referenced in each of the application cited documents, are hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference. More generally, documents or references are cited in this text, either in a Reference List before the claims, or in the text itself; and, each of these documents or references (“herein cited references”), as well as each docum...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0013] In a further embodiment the present invention provides isolated oligonucleotide probes that are useful in the detection of the UASMS1, UASMS2, UASMS3, and EXON2-FB SNPs in the ob gene. The present invention advantageously provides oligonucleotide probes for detection of the two alternative alleles of each SNP. For example, in the case of the UASMS1 polymorphism, which constitutes a C to T substitution at nucleotide position 207 of the ob gene promoter, the present invention provides oligonucleotide probes that can be used to detect and distinguish between the C-containing allele and the T-containing allele. In the case of the UASMS2 polymorphism, which constitutes a C to T substitution at nucleotide position 528 of the ob gene promoter, the present invention provides oligonucleotide probes that can be used to detect and distinguish between the C-containing allele and the T-containing allele. In the case of the UASMS3 polymorphism, which constitutes a C to G substitution at nucleotide position 1759 of the ob gene promoter, the present invention provides oligonucleotide probes that can be used to detect and distinguish between the C-containing allele and the G-containing allele. Similarly, in the case of the EXON2-FB polymorphism, which constitutes a C to T substitution at nucleotide position 305 of exon 2 of the ob gene, the present invention provides oligonucleotide probes that can be used to detect and distinguish between the C-containing allele and the T-containing allele. In a preferred embodiment, the oligonucleotide probes of the present invention are labeled with a detectable moiety, such as for example, digoxigenin-dUTP, biotin, fluorescent moieties, chemiluminescent moieties, electrochemiluminescent moieties and radioactive moieties.

[0014] In a further embodiment the present invention provides isolated primers and primer pairs that are useful in the amplification of fragments of the ob gene that span the UASMS1, UASMS2, UASMS3, and EXON2-FB SNPs. In one embodiment fragments of the ob gene that are amplified using such primers are subsequently detected using the oligonucloetide probes of the present invention.

[0015] The oligonucleotide probes and primers described herein are useful for identifying animals having SNPs associated with desirable traits relating to circulating leptin levels, feed intake, growth rate, body weight, carcass merit and carcass composition, as compared to the general population of animals of that species. Once individual animals possessing these SNPs have been identified, the animals can then be grouped according to genotype, wherein the animals of each sub-group have a similar polymorphism in the leptin gene. The present invention also advantageously provides compositions and kits comprising the oligonucleotide probes and primers described herein. These and other embodiments are disclosed or are obvious from and encompassed by, the following Detailed Description.

Problems solved by technology

However, such classical animal breeding techniques require several years of genetic evaluation of performance records on individual animals and their relatives and are therefore very expensive.

However, there is significant political and regulatory resistance to the introduction and use of such methodologies.

Such methodologies are also non-inheritable and need to be applied differently in every production system.

Though several polymorphisms have been detected in the bovine leptin promoter (Liefers et al., 2003), little has been done to associate any of these with any economically important traits in cattle.

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