Bihui  Yang, Chune  Niu, Ruilin  Feng, XiaLiang  , Jian  Guo, Xiaoping  Sun, Tingting  Guo, Yaojing  Yue, Jianbin  Liu, 
    Polymorphism of the <I>Keratin 31</I> Gene in Different Gansu Alpine Fine-Wool Sheep Strains by High Resolution Melting Curve Analysis,
    Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances,
    Volume 13,Issue 10,
    2014,
    Pages 627-632,
    ISSN 1680-5593,
    javaa.2014.627.632,
    (https://makhillpublications.co/view-article.php?doi=javaa.2014.627.632)
    Abstract: Keratin Intermediate Filament (KIF) is a key member of the 
  keratin family of proteins. In this study, High-Resolution Melting (HRM) analysis 
  and DNA sequencing were used to detect polymorphisms of the Keratin intermediate-filaments 
  31 (<I>KRT 31</I>) gene in three Gansu Alpine fine wool sheep strains (fine, 
  super fine and dual purpose strain) (n = 448) and to determine impacts of genotype 
  for KRT 31 on expression of wool traits. Results showed that there were a total 
  of two Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) identified as KRT 31 SNP c.166A&gt;G 
  and c.191T&gt;C. The mutation site c.166 (SNP c.166A&gt;G) results in a missense 
  mutation from Asn to Ser. The mutation at site c.191 (SNP c.191T&gt;C) does 
  not alter the amino acid sequence. The &#967;<SUP>2</SUP>-test showed that the 
  genotype distributions in these three strains of the SNP c.166A&gt;G and SNP 
  c.191T&gt;C were not all in agreement with Hardy Weinberg equilibrium. Furthermore, 
  analysis of the impact of <I>KRT 31</I> gene polymorphism on wool traits in 
  three Gansu Alpine fine wool sheep strains indicated that the mean fiber diameter 
  for KRT31c.166A&gt;G genotype AA and AG was smaller than genotype GG (p&lt;0.05) 
  suggesting this mutation could potentially be exploited in gene marker-assisted 
  selection programmes within the wool industry to select for animals with decreased 
  fiber diameter.
    Keywords: analysis;wool traits;high resolution melting;Gansu Alpine fine wool sheep;KRT 31