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A novel heterozygote allele in caprine melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R) gene: an association with heat stress traits

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Abstract

Climate change negatively influences the productive and reproductive abilities of goats. There is a need to understand the relationship between heat stress and genes that may aid in the development of climate-resilient goats. Melanism variation in goats plays a role in thermoregulation, in which the melanogenic genes have a pleiotropic effect on the regulation of physiological responses and behavior that are altered due to heat stress in the animals. Thus, the present study was conducted to establish a possible association between the coat color gene (MC1R) and heat stress characteristics. The physiological responses and cortisol levels were recorded in forty different coat-colored goats. The genotyping of the animals revealed four SNPs at the 183rd (C/T), 332nd (C/G), 748th (G/T), and 801st (C/G) positions, among which the black and brown goat populations had novel SNPs at the 332nd position. Eight haplotypes were constructed, and an association study revealed that haplotypes (CCGG, TCGG, and CCTC) that were linked to white animals had lower cortisol values, rectal temperature, skin temperature, and respiration rate. The multivariate and cluster analyses revealed that the white goats were distinct from the rest of the goats. In addition, the docking results revealed the residues that were forming the interaction complex, which could play a role in melanogenesis in the animals and, in turn, the heat stress ability of the goats. Altogether, the results of the present study could pave the way for more research into coat color genes and their relationship with heat stress traits.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during the current study are available upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to the authority of Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology for providing the necessary facility to carry out the research work.

Funding

The necessary funding for the research work was provided by the funding agency ICAR (Extramural Grant) with grant number AS/8/20/2015-ASR IV (Part II).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneswar, India

    K. M. Venkatesh, Chinmoy Mishra & Gangadhar Nayak

  2. Department of Bioinformatics, Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneswar, India

    Sukanta Kumar Pradhan

  3. Department of Livestock Production and Management, Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneswar, India

    Kumaresh Behera

  4. Department of Veterinary Physiology, Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneswar, India

    Smruti Ranjan Mishra

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  1. K. M. Venkatesh
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  4. Kumaresh Behera
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Contributions

V.K.M conceived, designed, and conducted the experiment, data analysis, and collection of samples and wrote the original manuscript; C.M conceived and designed the study, conducted the data analysis, reviewed and drafted the original manuscript; S.K.P conceived, designed, and reviewed the in-silico analysis in the study; K.B designed, helped, and reviewed the cortisol estimation analysis in the study; S.R.M and G.N overviewed, helped in designing and conducting the study. All authors read, corrected, and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Chinmoy Mishra.

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Venkatesh, K.M., Mishra, C., Pradhan, S.K. et al. A novel heterozygote allele in caprine melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R) gene: an association with heat stress traits. Trop Anim Health Prod 55, 68 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-023-03497-4

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