The polymorphisms of stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD1) and sterol regulatory element binding protein-1 (SREBP-1) genes and their association with the fatty acid profile of muscle and subcutaneous fat in Fleckvieh bulls.

The previously reported genetic polymorphisms of the stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD1) and sterol regulatory element binding protein-1 (SREBP-1) genes were investigated in Fleckvieh bulls using the PCR-RFLP and AS-PCR methods, respectively. The genomic DNA was obtained from a total of 370 bulls. The frequencies of alleles A and V of the single nucleotide polymorphism in exon 5 of the SCD1 gene (SNP 878C>T) were 0.555 and 0.445, respectively. In the 84-bp Ins/Del polymorphism in intron 5 of the SREBP-1 gene, the frequency of the L allele (insertion) was markedly higher (0.920) than that of the S allele (deletion; 0.080). Fatty acid profile was determined in a total of 367 samples of muscle fat (MSF) and 150 samples of subcutaneous fat (SCF). The AA genotype of SCD1 polymorphism showed a lower content of C18:0 (P<0.01) and higher contents of C14:1 cis-9 (P<0.001) and C18:1 cis-9 (P<0.05) in MSF compared to the VV genotype. As a result, the bulls with genotypes AA or AV had lower SFA (P<0.01), higher MUFA (P<0.05) and higher MUFA/SFA (P<0.01) than VV animals. The results obtained for SCF were similar. The SREBP-1 polymorphism was associated with a higher content of C14:1 cis-9 (P<0.01) in the LS compared to LL genotype in SCF. The results of this study demonstrated the existence of the polymorphisms in the SCD1 and SREBP-1 genes in the population of Fleckvieh cattle and their associations with the concentrations of several MSF and SCF fatty acids. Copyright (c) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.