Mapping of the transcription start site (TSS) and identification of SNPs in the bovine neuropeptide Y (<it<NPY</it<) gene

<p<Abstract</p< <p<Background</p< <p<Neuropeptide Y is a key neurotransmitter of the central nervous system which plays a vital role in the feed energy homeostasis in mammals. Mutations in the regulatory and coding regions of the bovine <it<NPY </it<gene can...
Ausführliche Beschreibung

<p<Abstract</p< <p<Background</p< <p<Neuropeptide Y is a key neurotransmitter of the central nervous system which plays a vital role in the feed energy homeostasis in mammals. Mutations in the regulatory and coding regions of the bovine <it<NPY </it<gene can potentially affect the neuronal regulation of appetite and feeding behaviour in cattle. The objectives of this experiment were to: a) fully characterize the bovine <it<NPY </it<gene transcript and b) identify the SNP diversity in both coding and non-coding regions of the <it<NPY </it<gene in a panel of <it<Bos taurus </it<and <it<B. indicus </it<cattle.</p< <p<Results</p< <p<Bovine <it<NPY </it<gene consists of four exons (99, 188, 81 and 195 nucleotides) and three introns. The promoter region of the <it<NPY </it<gene consists of TATA and GC boxes which are separated from the transcription start site (TSS) by 29 and ~100 nt, respectively. Analyses of the tissue specific expression of the bovine <it<NPY </it<gene revealed the presence of highly abundant <it<NPY </it<gene transcripts in the arcuate nucleus, cerebral and cerebellar regions of the bovine brain. We identified a total of 59 SNPs in the 8.4 kb region of the bovine <it<NPY </it<gene. Seven out of nine total SNPs in the promoter region affect binding of putative transcription factors. A high level of nucleotide diversity was evident in the promoter regions (2.84 × 10<sup<-3</sup<) compared to the exonic (1.44 × 10<sup<-3</sup<), intronic (1.30 × 10<sup<-3</sup<) and 3' untranslated (1.26 × 10<sup<-3</sup<) regions.</p< <p<Conclusion</p< <p<The SNPs identified in different regions of bovine <it<NPY </it<gene may serve as a basis for understanding the regulation of the expression of the bovine <it<NPY </it<gene under a variety of physiological conditions and identification of genotypes with high feed energy conversion efficiency.</p< Ausführliche Beschreibung