Short communication: JY-1 gene variants and embryo production in Holstein cows

Abstract

The aims of this study were to verify the occurrence of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the JY-1 gene and their association with the in vivo and in vitro production of embryos in Holstein donors. The JY-1 protein is oocyte-specific and has an important regulatory role in folliculogenesis, oocyte maturation, and early embryonic development. Retrospective data of in vivo (n = 572) and in vitro (n = 1068) embryos produced between 2013 and 2015 were obtained from 144 non-lactating, Holstein cows. To identify the polymorphisms, exons 2 and 3 were studied by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) sequencing. The association of SNPs with embryo traits (number of transferable embryos produced in vivo, rate of transferable embryos in vivo, number of embryos produced in vitro, cleavage rate, and embryo rate in vitro) was determined using the GLIMMIX procedure of SAS. Eleven SNPs were detected, located in exon 2, intron 2, and exon 3. The coding genetic variants were non-synonymous, synonymous, and located in untranslated regions. Nine SNPs were associated with at least one in vitro embryo production trait, but none were associated with in vivo embryo production. JY-1 has potential markers that could be used to select donors, and its influence on in vitro embryo production was observed in the present study.