PSAP gene variants and haplotypes reveal significant effects on carcass and meat quality traits in Chinese Simmental-cross cattle

Abstract. Prosaposin (PSAP) is the precursor protein of four small lysosomal glycoproteins and plays vital roles in muscle growth and development of beef cattle. The aim of this study is to evaluate the association between PSAP gene polymorphisms with carcass composition and meat quality traits of Chinese Simmental-cross cattle. In the present study, six SNPs were identified within intron 10 and exon 11 of the PSAP gene from 380 beef cattle by direct DNA sequencing, and 47 traits of carcass composition and meat quality were measured in the studied population. Then, the relationship between variants of PSAP gene with economic traits was analyzed using statistical methods. The result revealed that I10-65G  >  A, I10-313C  >  T, E11-87C  >  T, and E11-93C  >  G were significantly associated with carcass traits, such as dressing percentage, fat coverage rate, carcass depth, and hind leg width, and I10-162C  >  T and I10-274C  >  T were significantly associated with marbling score traits. In addition, the individuals with GCCCGC haplotype showed significant higher dressed weight, dressing percentage and rib eye area (p <  0.01), and the individuals with ACCTCC haplotype showed a significant association with the pH of beef and backfat thickness in the cattle population (p <  0.05). Our results indicate that these SNPs and haplotypes of the PSAP gene are possible important genetic factors that influence carcass composition and meat quality traits, and they may be useful markers in future marker-assisted selection (MAS) programs in beef cattle breeding and production.