Development of a tetra-primer ARMS PCR-based assay for detection of a novel single-nucleotide polymorphism in the 5' untranslated region of the bovine ITGB6 receptor gene associated with foot-and-mouth disease susceptibility in cattle.

ITGB6 is known to be one of the major receptor components involved in host tropism of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) virus in cattle. A competitive PCR technique called ARMS PCR was adapted to identify a single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), G29A, db SNP Id: rs109075046, in the 5' untranslated region (5'UTR) of the bovine ITGB6 gene. Genotype profiling identified three kinds of genetic variation within the targeted SNP among Frieswal crossbred cattle. The occurrence of FMD in the three genotypes was further evaluated, revealing a clear role in the incidence of FMD in the studied population.