Detection of a Second KAP22 Family Member in Sheep and Analysis of Its Genetic Variation and Associations with Selected Wool Fibre Traits

The keratin-associated proteins (KAPs) are a class of wool proteins. They form a matrix that cross-links the wool intermediate filament keratins. The KAPs are thought to affect wool fibre structure and properties and have been associated with variation in wool fibre traits. There are many KAP genes in sheep, but not all have been identified. Recently a second member of the KAP22 gene family, <i>KRTAP22-2</i>, was identified in goats, and variation in this caprine gene was associated with cashmere fibre traits. In this study, we identified ovine <i>KRTAP22-2</i>. To ascertain the extent of variation in <i>KRTAP22-2,</i> sheep from eight breeds were investigated using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) followed by single-strand conformational polymorphism (SSCP) analysis. This revealed two unique banding patterns, which upon sequencing gave two novel DNA sequences. These differed by two single nucleotide polymorphisms in the coding region. Three genotypes of the novel <i>KRTAP22-2</i> sequences were observed in the eight sheep breeds studied. The ovine <i>KRTAP22-2</i> variant sequences were similar to a goat <i>KRTAP22-2</i> variant, but a search of ovine expressed sequence tags revealed no matching mRNA sequences in the ovine databases. In a second part of the study, no association was found between the <i>KRTAP22-2</i> genotypes and mean fibre diameter, fibre diameter standard deviation, coefficient of variation in fibre diameter, and mean fibre curvature, for either the fine wool or heterotypic hair fibres of 255 Chinese Tan lambs. These results suggests that sheep have a <i>KRTAP22-2</i> gene, but that there may be species-specific differences in the gene's expression or function. The gene may not affect wool traits in the way that it appears to in goats.