Detection of two insertion/deletions (indels) within the ADAMTS9 gene and their associations with growth traits in goat

The "A Disintegrin and Metalloproteinase with Thrombospondin Type-1 motifs 9" (ADAMTS9) is a Zn2+-dependent metalloproteinases of ADAMTSs family, and it regulates growth and development of mammals. Here, the aim of this study was to explore the genetic variations of ADAMTS9 gene and evaluate their effect on growth performance. Herein, two novel deletions (22-bp and 14-bp) were found and their significant associations were detected in Shaanbei white cashmere (SBWC) goats (n = 1006). Further analysis showed low linkage disequilibrium. The results indicated that the 22-bp deletion was related to chest width (CW; P = 0.002), chest width index (CWI; P = 1.18E-04) and chest circumference index (CCI; P = 0.022), and the individuals with II genotype had lower CW, CWI and CCI. Another 14-bp deletion was associated with height across the hip (P = 0.039) and the II genotype was the dominant genotype. Combination analysis revealed that there were five joint genotypes with relatively high combination frequency, and significant effects were found for them on chest width (CW; P <= 0.020), chest circumference (CC; P <= 0.015), chest circumference index (CCI; P <= 0.047) and chest width index (CWI; P <= 0.006). Individuals with joint genotypes IP2DP2IP3DP3 and IP2DP2IP3IP3 had higher values. Together, these findings hinted that the two novel indels within ADAMTS9 gene were related to growth traits in goat, which may provide functional genetic markers for improving economical traits in goat breeding.