Variation in the Ovine Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 Beta-Interaction Protein Gene () Affects Carcass and Growth Traits in Romney Sheep.

The glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta (GSK3β)-interacting protein (encoded by the gene ) is a small A-kinase anchoring protein, which complexes with GSK3βand protein kinase A (PKA) and acts synergistically with cAMP/PKA signaling to inhibit GSK3β activity. The protein plays a role in regulating glycogen metabolism, protein synthesis, the cell cycle, and in regulating gene expression. In this study, PCR-single strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) analyses were used to screen for variation in exon 1 and exon 2 of in 840 New Zealand (NZ) Romney sheep. Two SSCP banding patterns representing two different nucleotide variants ( and ) were detected in an exon 1 region, whereas in an exon 2 region only one pattern was detected. Variants and of exon 1 had one non-synonymous nucleotide difference c.37A/G (p.Met13Val). The birthweight of sheep of genotype (5.9 ± 0.06 kg) was different ( = 0.023) to sheep of genotype (5.7 ± 0.06 kg) and (5.7 ± 0.06 kg). The hot carcass weight (HCW) of sheep of genotype (17.2 ± 0.22 kg) was different ( = 0.012) to sheep of genotype (17.6 ± 0.22 kg) and (18.0 ± 0.29 kg), and the fat depth at the 12th rib (V-GR) of sheep of genotype (7.7 ± 0.31 mm) was different ( = 0.016) to sheep of genotype (8.3 ± 0.30 mm) and (8.5 ± 0.39 mm). The results suggest that the c.37A/G substitution in ovine may affect sheep growth and carcass traits.