| 摘要 |
This invention relates to methods and nucleic acid probes for assessing characteristics of lipid metabolism in animals, and in particular to methods of predicting fat levels in meat, milk, or other fat depots of animals. Thus the invention provides a method of assessing the fat metabolism characteristics of an animal, comprising the step of testing the animal for the presence or absence of one or more markers selected from the group consisting of: a) an allele of the 5' untranslated region of the gene encoding thyroglobulin; b) an allele of the DNA polymorphism CSSM34, associated with the gene encoding retinoic acid receptor gamma (RARG); c) an allele of the DNA polymorphism ETH10, associated with 11-cis, 9-cis retinol dehydrogenase (RDH5). The invention is particularly applicable to predicting deposition of fat in muscular tissue, which produces the characteristic "marbling" of meat, and to assessment of milk fat content. The methods of the invention are useful in selection of animals, particularly cattle, for ability to produce or high levels of marbling in meat, and to produce high or low levels of milk fat content.
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