Abstract. Methionine sulfoxide reductase B3 (MSRB3) is instrumental in ossification and fat deposition, which regulate the
growth and development of cattle directly. The purpose of this study was
aimed to explore insertions and deletions (indels) in MSRB3 gene and investigate
their association with growth traits in four indigenous cattle breeds (Luxi
cattle, Qinchuan cattle, Nanyang cattle, and Jiaxian Red cattle). Four indels
were identified by sequencing with DNA pool. Association analysis showed
that three of them were associated with growth traits (P<0.05). For
P1, the DD (deletion and deletion) genotype was significantly associated with body length of Nanyang
cattle; for P6, II (insertion and insertion) and/or DD genotypes were significantly associated with
enhanced growth traits of Qinchuan cattle; for P7, II genotype was
significantly associated with hucklebone width of Luxi cattle. Our results
demonstrated that the polymorphisms in bovine MSRB3 gene were significantly
associated with growth traits, which could be candidate loci for
marker-assisted selection (MAS) in cattle breeding.