M
any laboratories study the linkage of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in various genes to the risk of developing disease or their clinical outcomes. DNA and Cell Biology publishes the findings of these studies frequently. SNPs are also studied in domestic animals, including dogs, cattle, sheep, pigs, horses, and chickens, and these studies will likely be expanded to other domesticated animals, crops, and aquaculture species (reviewed in Goddard and Hayes, 2009). SNPs are also being used to identify specific fish populations with the goals of improved enforcement of fishing regulations and labeling of catches (reviewed in Stokstad, 2010). This month's issue of DNA and Cell Biology features two studies of SNPs in sheep. In their work, “Analysis of the Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) in the 5′ UTR and Part of Intron I of the Sheep MSTN Gene,” Sjakste and colleagues (2011) utilize SNP genotyping and haplotyping to characterize two Latvian Darkhead sheep herds to further breed conservation efforts. Yang and coworkers (2011) analyzed SNPs of ADRB3 in multiple sheep breeds and present their findings in “Extended Haplotype Analysis of Ovine ADRB3 Using PCR-SSCP on Two Regions of the Gene.” Polymorphism of ADRB3 is associated with changes in lamb survival, birth weight, growth rates, carcass composition, wool staple length, and wool yield. Greater understanding of ADRB3 haplotypes may improve sheep breeding. Taken together, these two articles highlight the application of SNP studies to animal science. They also highlight a central goal of DNA and Cell Biology, providing an outlet for researchers in varying subdisciplines of biology, in this case animal science and medical genetics, to present and discuss studies utilizing similar techniques, but performed for very different purposes, in a single venue.
For more information on this topic, please see the review by Michael E. Goddard and Ben J. Hayes (2009) and the article by Eric Stokstad (2010).
