Identification and Prioritization of Genes Regulating Muscle Growth in Bovine Species

Introduction: Discovering novel genes regulating multigenic traits like meat quality in bovine species is challenging and required to perform urgently for further research in this field for development of novel technologies. Performing genetic studies frequently result in large lists of candidate genes of which only few can be followed up for further investigation. Gene prioritization establishes the ranking of candidate genes based on their relevance with respect to a biological process of interest, from which the most promising genes can be selected for further analysis. Objectives: a) To identify the genes that regulate multigenic traits like growth (meat quality) in bovine species, and b) To prioritize these identified genes involved in multigenic traits of bovine species. Results: In the present study, through using state -of -art bioinformatics tool, we have identified a total of 595 candidate genes specific to muscle growth in bovine species (cattle) for the first time. Furthermore, these identified genes of interest were also ranked based on their importance and priority. The 10 topmost ranked genes that influence body mass growth in bovine species are MSTN, DGAT1, GHR, PRNP, GH1, IGF1, SCD, VEGFA, LEP and CAPN1. Conclusions: As it is not possible to check each and every gene from a total of approximately 22, 000 genes of cattle for most important multigenic traits viz., muscle growth, prioritization of the candidate genes that have been established in the present study will be useful for further laboratory analysis of the limited ranked genes for better understanding of the body growth for attainment of early maturity for better meat production.