ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Animal Reproduction - Theriogenology
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1700201
This article is part of the Research TopicAdvances in Sheep and Goat Reproduction Based on Omics TechnologiesView all articles
Polymorphisms in the 3'UTR of the TGF-β1 gene associated with litter size in Ujimqin and Sonid sheep
Provisionally accepted
- 1Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, China
- 2East Ujimqin Hexig Animal Husbandry Development Company, Inner Mongolia, China
- 3West Ujimqin Banner Altai Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Development Company, Inner Mongolia, China
- 4Sonid Right Banner Sonid Sheep Breeding Technology Company, Inner Mongolia, China
- 5Sonid Left Banner Livestock Germplasm Development Company, Inner Mongolia, China
- 6Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot, China
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Reproductive characteristics like ovulation frequency and litter number significantly impact the sheep industry. Transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1) functions as a multifunctional regulator of key reproductive processes, plays a pivotal role in mammalian ovarian development. However, research on the role of the TGF-β1 gene in the reproduction of Ujimqin and Sonid sheep breeds remains scarce. Thus, this study identified 11 new variants of the TGF-β1 gene in these breeds by direct sequencing. In these 11 variants, the Sonid-linkage disequilibrium (LD)1 and Ujimqin-LD1 (comprising the g.50044287 G>A and g.50044526 G>C polymorphisms) in the 3' untranslated region of the TGF-β1 gene were significantly associated with litter size in Sonid and Ujimqin ewes (p < 0.01, p < 0.05, respectively), and the single g.50044837 C>T polymorphism in the 3' UTR was also associated with litter size in Sonid sheep (p < 0.01) through association analyses. These findings may provide potential genetic markers for improving prolificacy in sheep.
Keywords: TGF-β1, Litter Size, Sonid sheep, Ujimqin sheep, polymorphism
Received: 06 Sep 2025; Accepted: 17 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhang, Cang, Alatan, Gan, Naren, Bu, Cao and TONG. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Bin TONG, tongbin@imu.edu.cn
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