Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms of Gene and Association with Non-specific Digestive Disorder in Rabbit

• Main Authors: Yun-Fu Liu, Gong-Wei Zhang, Zheng-Long Xiao, Yu Yang, Xiao-Song Deng, Shi-Yi Chen, Jie Wang, Song-Jia Lai
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Asian-Australasian Association of Animal Production Societies 2013-08-01
• Series: Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• Subjects: SNP; Non-specific Digestive Disorder; Case-control Study; Rabbit
• Online Access: http://www.ajas.info/upload/pdf/ajas-26-8-1072-3.pdf
• ISSN: 1011-2367; 1976-5517

The NLRP12 (NLR family, pyrin domain containing 12) serves as a suppressor factor in the inflammatory response and protects the host against inflammation-induced damage. In the present study, we aimed to study the polymorphisms of NLRP12 gene and its association with susceptibility to non-specific digestive disorder (NSDD) in rabbits. We re-sequenced the entire coding region of the rabbit NLRP12 gene and detected a total of 19 SNPs containing 14 synonymous and five non-synonymous variations. Among them, the coding SNP (c.1682A>G), which would carry a potential functional implication, was subsequently subjected to genotyping for case-control association study (272 cases and 267 controls). The results revealed that allele A was significantly protective against NSDD with an odds ratio value of 0.884 (95% confidence interval, 0.788 to 0.993; p = 0.038). We also experimentally induced NSDD in growing rabbits by feeding a fibre-deficient diet and subsequently investigated NLRP12 mRNA expression. The mRNA expression of NLRP12 in healthy status was significantly higher than that in severe NSDD (p = 0.0016). The highest expression was observed in individuals carrying the protective genotype AA (p = 0.0108). These results suggested that NLRP12 was significantly associated with the NSDD in rabbits. However, the precise molecular mechanism of NLRP12 involving in the development of rabbit NSDD requires further research.