PSXIV-23 - Polymorphism of the LCORL gene in the reindeer

Reindeer are one of the main representatives of the ecosystem of the Arctic zone and the only possible object of economic activity of the indigenous peoples of the polar regions of Russia. Reindeer meat is a valuable source of complete protein in the diet of the Evenks, Nenets, Yakuts and other peoples of the Far North. Four breeds of reindeer have been bred in Russia - Nenets, Evenk, Chukchi and Even. Evenk and Nenets are the most numerous. They live in different climatic zones and differ significantly in phenotypic characteristics (size and body weight). Populations of wild reindeer are also widespread. The problem of increasing the meat productivity of the main breeds of domesticated reindeer can be solved by searching for casual polymorphisms in candidate genes responsible for the growth and development of muscle tissue. Thus, polymorphism of the LCORL gene (mRNA ligand-dependent nuclear receptor of the corepressor type, which is a transcription factor) is associated with body weight and size in many mammals. We sequenced exon 7 of the LCORL gene and found seven SNPs, six of which are nonsynonymous and lead to a change in the amino acid composition of the protein. There was a significant difference in the occurrence of wild and mutant alleles in the three analyzed populations (wild reindeer, Nenets breed, Evenk breed), which indicates the presence of selection pressure on the LСORL gene region, and also indirectly confirms the significance of the polymorphism of this locus for phenotypic variability in height and size of the reindeer. Studies of associations of LCORL gene polymorphisms on live weight and growth in other animal species suggest that some of the found SNPs may be true causal quantitative trait loci (QTL) in domestic reindeer breeds. Project №0045-2021-0010.