Dezhou donkey LTBP2 gene polymorphisms

The number of thoracolumbar vertebrae in Dezhou donkey varies from 22 to 24 and is associated with body size and carcass traits. The relationship between LTBP2 and TLN (the number of thoracolumbar vertebrae) of Dezhou donkeys is yet reported. The purposes of this study are as follows: (a) Quantifying the effect of thoracolumbar vertebrae number variation of Dezhou donkey on body size and carcass trait; (b) Studying the distribution of single nucleotide variants (SNVs) in LTBP2 gene of Dezhou donkey; (c) Exploring whether these SNVs can be used as candidate sites to study the mechanism of Dezhou donkey muti-thoracolumbar vertebrae development. These results provide useful information that the polymorphism of LTBP2 is significantly associated with TLN, body size and carcass traits in Dezhou donkey, which can serve as a molecule marker to improve donkey production performance.