Genetic diversity and polymorphism of genes associated with meat quality and growth traits of A Luoi Yellow cattle in Vietnam.

Background And Aim: A Luoi Yellow cattle is an indigenous cattle breed that is raised in the A Luoi District, Vietnam, characterized by its small body size, high adaptability, and meat quality favored by domestic consumers. Marker-assisted selection is an effective approach for improving breeding genetics and sustainably developing livestock production. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the genetic diversity and polymorphism of genes associated with meat quality and productivity in the A Luoi Yellow cattle population with the goal of future breeding selection and sustainable development of the A Luoi Yellow beef brand.

Materials And Methods: In this study, we genotyped six functional genes, including Leptin (), Calpastatin (), Calpain 1, pleomorphic adenoma gene 1, Sirtuin 1, and Sirtuin 2 (), involved in meat quality and growth traits using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism. We also investigated mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and the Y chromosome-specific gene on the Y chromosome to elucidate the genetic diversity and paternal and maternal origin of the A Luoi Yellow cattle using Sanger sequencing.

Results: The results showed that A Luoi yellow cattle have origin from both paternal and maternal lineages. By mtDNA analysis, we identified two new haplotypes of the I1 haplogroup that were not previously detected. The genotyping of the six functional genes indicated that A Luoi Yellow cattle carry favorable alleles that increase meat tenderness and body size, with frequencies of 0.02-0.40. In particular, the presence of desirable homozygous genotypes of the , , and genes will be important for the future selection of animals based on their potential performance in meat quality and productivity.

Conclusion: The findings of this study is useful for the future breeding and sustainable development of A Luoi Yellow cattle.