Six novel coding SNPs of the nucleophosmin 1 (NPM1) gene and their associations with growth traits in bovine (Brief Report)

The Nucleophosmin 1 (NPM1) gene encodes a multifunctional nucleolar phosphoprotein that has crucial roles in the control of different aspects of cell growth and homeostasis, such as ribosome biogenesis, centrosome duplication, cell cycle progression, apoptosis and cell differentiation (GRISENDI et al. 2006, NAOE et al. 2006). As mutants of NPM1 gene impact protein synthesis, NPM1 is an essential protein in mouse development and cell growth (MAGGI et al. 2008). The bovine NPM1 gene contains one exon and locates at chromosome 9. In previous work, the 12-bp deletion was detected in bovine NPM1 gene coding region. (HUANG et al. 2010). In this study, the coding region of bovine NPM1 gene has been scanned by PCR-SSCP, DNA sequencing and forced PCR-RFLP methods for SNPs in 1 032 individuals belonging to four Chinese cattle breeds. Association of six mutations of NPM1 gene with growth traits was analyzed.