| Literature DB >> 24218568 |
Mayumi Sugimoto1, Shinji Sasaki, Yusaku Gotoh, Yuuki Nakamura, Yoshito Aoyagi, Takayoshi Kawahara, Yoshikazu Sugimoto.
Abstract
The recent decline in fertility is a serious problem in the dairy industry. To overcome this problem, we performed a genome-wide association study using 384 Holsteins and identified four loci associated with conception rates. Two of them contained gap junction-related genes: PKP2 and CTTNBP2NL. Further analysis confirmed that PKP2 increased connexin 43, a gap junction protein, whereas CTTNBP2NL dephosphorylated connexin 43. Knockdown of PKP2 or overexpression of CTTNBP2NL inhibited embryo implantation in mice. The other two loci contained neuroendocrine-related genes: SETD6 and CACNB2. Additional experiments indicated that SETD6 is involved in the transcriptional regulation of gonadotropin-releasing hormone, whereas CACNB2 controlled the secretion of follicle-stimulating hormone in cattle. The total allele substitution effect of these genes on conception rate was 3.5%. Our findings reveal important roles for gap junction communication and the neuroendocrine system in conception and suggest unique selection methods to improve reproductive performance in the livestock industry.Entities:
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Year: 2013 PMID： 24218568 PMCID： PMC3845116 DOI： 10.1073/pnas.1309307110
Source DB: PubMed Journal: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A ISSN： 0027-8424 Impact factor: 11.205