The bovine fatty acid binding protein 4 gene is significantly associated with marbling and subcutaneous fat depth in Wagyu x Limousin F2 crosses

Fatty acid binding protein 4 (FABP4), which is expressed in adipose tissue, interacts with peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors and binds to hormone-sensitive lipase and therefore, plays an important role in lipid metabolism and homeostasis in adipocytes. The objective of this study was to investigate associations of the bovine FABP4 gene with fat deposition. Both cDNA and genomic DNA sequences of the bovine gene were retrieved from the public databases and aligned to determine its genomic organization. Primers targeting two regions of the FABP4 gene were designed: from nucleotides 5433-6106 and from nucleotides 7417-7868 (AAFC01136716). Direct sequencing of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products on two DNA pools from high- and low-marbling animals revealed two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs): AAFC01136716.1:g.7516G>C and g.7713G>C. The former SNP, detected by PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism using restriction enzyme MspA1I, was genotyped on 246 F2 animals in a Waygu x Limousin F2 reference population. Statistical analysis showed that the FABP4 genotype significantly affected marbling score (P = 0.0398) and subcutaneous fat depth (P = 0.0246). The FABP4 gene falls into a suggestive/significant quantitative trait loci interval for beef marbling that was previously reported on bovine chromosome 14 in three other populations.