Meta Gene 27 (2021) 100841 Available online 8 December 2020 2214-5400/© 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Comparison of the single nucleotide polymorphisms and expression of FSHβ and LHβ genes between prolifc and non-prolifc goat breeds of Kerala Bhuvana Plakkot a , Raji Kanakkaparambil b, * a Department of Veterinary Physiology, College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Mannuthy, Thrissur, Kerala 680651, India b Department of Veterinary Physiology, College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Mannuthy, Thrissur, Kerala 680651, India A R T I C L E INFO Keywords: FSHβ LHβ Indigenous goats Gene SNPs Differential gene expression ABSTRACT Attappady Black and Malabari breeds of goats are native to Kerala, a southern state of India. Attappady Black is a low prolifc breed whereas Malabari breed is highly prolifc. Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) and Luteinizing Hormone (LH) are the gonadotropins which are considered to be the central hormones controlling prolifcacy. The present study aimed to detect presence of SNPs in exonic regions of FSHβ and LHβ and the expression of these gonadotropins in both these breeds. Blood samples were collected from ten does fve each from Attappady Black and Malabari goats and the genomic DNA was extracted. Multiple primers were designed based on Ensembl Genome Browser sequences to cover the entire exonic regions of both the genes for SNP detection. Pooled PCR products of FSHβ and LHβ separately from the two breeds were sequenced. Nucleotide sequencing showed synonymous single nucleotide polymorphism T → C, in FSHβ coding sequence, at position 413 (as per FSHβ ENSCHIG00000022859), in both Attappady Black and Malabari goats. Numerous other SNPs both novel and reported were detected in the non-coding regions of FSHβ. In LHβ of Attappady Black goat, an SNP was found at exonic position 455 (G → A) as per LHβ ENSCHIT00000012663.1. This transition resulted in replacement of amino acid arginine (R) with glutamine (Q). Upon individual sequencing of ten each of single birth and multiple birth Attappady Black goat samples, three animals with single birth and fve animals with multiple birth showed G → A change in the LHβ transcript at position 455. Pituitary samples were collected from 6 animals each from both the breeds and expressions of both the genes were quantifed using qRT-PCR technique. There was no signifcant difference in pituitary FSHβ expression between breeds. However, there was a signifcant difference (P < 0.01) in LHβ expression between the two breeds with an increase in expression of 2.61 folds in Attappady Black breed. This study forewarn a main role for LH in the genetic network controlling prolifcacy in these goat breeds and this necessitates further investigation with larger sample size and also in other goat breeds. 1. Introduction Goats contribute immensely to the poor man’s economy in India; a large proportion of farmers in rural villages depend on the goats for their employment (MacHugh and Bradley 2001; Bhat and Khan 2009). They are considered as high utility animals used for producing milk, meat, fber and hides. Attappady Black and Malabari breeds of goats are native to Kerala, a southern state of India. Attappady Black is a low prolifc breed with a lesser litter size with more single birth than twinning and triplets (Stephen et al. 2005), whereas Malabari breed is highly prolifc with 50% twinning, 25% triplets and 5% quadruplets (Verma et al. 2009). Gonadotropins (FSH and LH) are synthesised and secreted by the anterior part of pituitary gland. These are the major hormones that directly regulate reproductive performance (Campbell et al. 1999; Mullen et al. 2013). Both FSH and LH are heterodimeric glycoprotein hormones consisting of two subunits, a common alpha (α) subunit and structurally dissimilar beta (β) subunit. The beta subunit gives biological activity and specifcity for these hormones (Pierce and Parsons 1981; Gharib et al. 1990). FSH acts via the FSH receptors (FSHR) present on the granulosa cells of ovarian follicles (Richards 1980) and stimulates follicular growth, granulosa cell proliferation, oestrogen secretion, LH * Corresponding author at: Department of Veterinary Physiology, College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Mannuthy, Thrissur, Kerala 680651, India. E-mail address: raji@kvasu.ac.in (R. Kanakkaparambil). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Meta Gene journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/mgene https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mgene.2020.100841 Received 9 October 2020; Received in revised form 4 November 2020; Accepted 7 December 2020