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Effects of Novel Mutations in the LEPR Gene on Litter Size in Gobi Short Tail Sheep and Sonid Sheep
by
Sen Yang
1,†, 
Lin An
1,†,
Pengda Dong
1,
Ming Zhang
2,
Guifang Cao
1,
Taogetao Baoying
3,
Lai Da
4,
Changqing Li
4 and
Bin Tong
1,* 1
The State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Regulation and Breeding of Grassland Livestock, School of Life Sciences, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot 010020, China
2
Inner Mongolia Mengyuan Sheep Breeding Company, Baotou 014016, China
3
Animal Husbandry Center of Sonid Right Banner, Xilingol 026399, China
4
Inner Mongolia Academy of Agricultural and Animal Husbandry Sciences, Hohhot 010031, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Vet. Sci. 2025, 12(9), 868; https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci12090868 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 13 July 2025
/
Revised: 2 September 2025
/
Accepted: 4 September 2025
/
Published: 6 September 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Markers in Ruminant Reproduction)
Simple Summary
The LEPR gene is considered a major genetic factor influencing sheep reproduction. Here, we performed association analyses of 14 LEPR variants with litter size in Gobi short-tail and Sonid sheep breeds. Furthermore, we compared the favorable allele frequency of the two variants across Gobi short tail sheep (GB), Sonid sheep (SN), Mongolia sheep (MG), Ujimqin sheep (UM), Dorper × Ujimqin F1 population (DPU), Suffolk × Ujimqin F1 population (SFKU), Tan sheep (Tan), Hu sheep (Hu), and Small-tailed Han sheep (STH). Association results demonstrated that the known c.240C>T (rs159694506) and c.279C>T (rs159694508) variants could influence the litter size in Gobi short tail sheep and Sonid sheep, whereas the known g.41249772C>T (rs412130067), g.41249873A>C (rs425490800), g.41250357T>C (rs424307284), and g.41250358T>C (rs404651806) variants identified herein showed a specific association with the litter size in Sonid sheep. In addition, in GB sheep, the frequency of the litter-size-associated C allele at the c.240C>T (rs159694506) and c.279C>T (rs159694508) variants was significantly lower than that in SN, UM, Tan, Hu, and STH sheep populations. In SN sheep, the frequency of the litter-size-associated C allele at the c.240C>T (rs159694506) and c.279C>T (rs159694508) variants was significantly lower than that in DPU. These data provide potential genetic markers for sheep breeding, and the novel variants also have value for the study of ovine LEPR.
Abstract
Increasing the litter size in sheep is a primary objective in breeding programs, driving sustained interest in identifying candidate functional genes and molecular markers associated with fecundity. The known FecD mutation in the LEPR gene has been shown to regulate reproductive traits by influencing the ovulation rate of Davisdale sheep. However, the relationship between single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the LEPR and litter size remains unknown in Gobi short tail sheep and Sonid sheep. In this research, we found one novel variant and thirteen known variants through direct sequencing in Sonid sheep and Gobi short tail sheep and performed an association study in a large-scale population. The association analysis identified two SNPs (c.240C>T (rs159694506) and c.279C>T (rs159694508)) with significant litter size associations in Gobi short tail sheep (p < 0.01 ). In Sonid sheep, the c.240C>T (rs159694506), c.279C>T (rs159694508), g.41249772C>T (rs412130067), g.41249873A>C (rs425490800), g.41250357T>C (rs424307284), and g.41250358T>C (rs404651806) SNPs were significantly associated with litter size (p < 0.05 ). In addition, in GB sheep, the frequency of the litter-size-associated C allele at the c.240C>T (rs159694506) and c.279C>T (rs159694508) variants were significantly lower than that in Sonid sheep (SN), Mongolia sheep (MG), Ujimqin sheep (UM), Tan sheep (Tan), Hu sheep (Hu), and Small-tailed Han sheep (STH) populations. In SN sheep, the frequency of the litter-size-associated C allele at the c.240C>T (rs159694506) and c.279C>T (rs159694508) variant was significantly lower than that in the DPU. These findings provided valuable molecular markers pertinent to the fecundity of sheep, offering scientific evidence for the genetic improvement of these breeds.
Keywords:
association; LEPR; litter size; Gobi short tail sheep; Sonid sheep
