Abstract

The purpose of this study was to discover genetic variants in the bovine fatty acid desaturase domain family member 6 (FADS6) gene and to test for associations with fatty acid composition (FAC) as well as carcass traits such as backfat thickness (BFT) and marbling scores (MAR). 90 Hanwoo steers were used in the study, and sequence analyses detected 4 genetic variants in intron 2 (approximately 10,890 bp) of FADS6. The FADS6 SNPs showed no significant departures from HWE (Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium) except g.57772511C > T that did not have heterozygous genotypes. Genotypes of g.57770744A > G and g.57772511C > T were significantly associated with Vaccenic (C18:ln7), Palmitoleic (C16:ln7), and Stearic (C18:0) acids. The analysis confirmed dominance and additive effects for the g.57770744A > G and g.57772511C > T segments, respectively. A positive correlation (31.1%, P = 0.003) between BFT and Linolenic acid (C18:3n3) and a negative (-36.5%, P < 0.001) correlation between MAR and Eicosenoic acids (C20:1n9) were observed.

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