Cloning and polymorphisms of the 3′ untranslated region of malic enzyme gene in Chinese red cattle

The objective of this study was to identify alternative transcripts and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the 3′-untranslated region (3′ UTR) of bovine malic enzyme (ME1) gene and to evaluate the extent to which polymorphisms were associated with meat quality and carcass traits in Chinese red cattle. Two transcripts, long transcript and short transcript that differ in the length of the 3′ UTR were cloned. A single nucleotide polymorphism was detected in 3′ UTR and a restriction site for endonuclease ME1-Dra I was also found. The result revealed that the ME1-Dra I genotypes had a significant effect on cooking loss, pH measured 24 h post-mortem (pH24h) and eye muscle area (P < 0.05). In conclusion, the SNPs may be used as DNA markers to select for meat quality and carcass traits in Chinese red cattle.