Complex combination of polymorphic variants of the OPN and IGF-1 genes in a cattle population

Abstract

The article presents the results of a study on the combined genotypes of OPN (c.8514C/T) and IGF-1 (512T/C) genes in a population of Holstein heifers (n=202). The experiment was conducted at the Lenin Breeding Farm (Atninsky District, Republic of Tatarstan), and laboratory analyses were carried out at the Tatar Research Institute of Agriculture, Kazan Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The relevance of the study is driven by the need to identify genetic markers associated with reproductive traits in cattle, as fertility indicators alongside milk productivity determine the economic efficiency of dairy farming. The OPN and IGF-1 genes are involved in the regulation of embryogenesis, implantation, folliculogenesis, and early embryonic development; however, their combined interaction remains insufficiently studied. Genotyping was performed using PCR-RFLP with restriction endonucleases BseI (for OPN ) and BstSNI (for IGF-1 ). The analysis revealed the presence of all nine possible combined genotype combinations, confirming the genetic heterogeneity of the studied population. The highest frequency was observed for the combined genotype CT/AB (29.7%), while the lowest frequencies were found for CC/BB (2.0%) and CC/AA (3.0%) by OPN / IGF-1 . A pattern of decreasing frequency of combined genotypes was established with an increasing number of homozygous loci. Comparison of the observed and theoretically expected distributions showed no statistically significant deviations (χ² = 4.67; p > 0.05), indicating independent allele combination of the studied genes and the absence of factors disrupting genetic equilibrium in the sample. The obtained data can be applied in breeding programs for marker-assisted selection of parental pairs, genetic passportization, and monitoring of the genetic structure of cattle populations.