DNA Polymorphisms in river buffalo leptin gene

Abstract

Leptin is a protein involved in the regulation of feed intake, fat metabolism, whole body energy balance, reproduction and hematopoiesis. In cattle Leptin gene has been considered a potential QTL influencing several production traits like meat production, milk performance and reproduction. Several studies on bovine leptin gene have found association between polymorphisms and traits like milk yield, feed intake, fat content, carcass and meat quality. With the aim to assess the presence of sequences polymorphisms in the Buffalo leptin gene, we sequenced the entire coding region and part of the introns on a panel of Italian River Buffalos. In this study we identified a new set of SNP (Single Nucleotide Polymorphism) useful for association studies.