Assessment of the FAM174A 11G allele as a risk allele for equine metabolic syndrome

M. M. Roy, E. M. Norton, A. K. Rendahl, N. E. Schultz, D. McFarlane, R. J. Geor, J. R. Mickelson, M. E. McCue

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

An 11G nucleotide repeat in the 3′ UTR of FAM174A was recently postulated as a risk allele with a dominant mode of inheritance for equine metabolic syndrome (EMS) and laminitis status in Arabian horses. The objective of this project was to evaluate this hypothesis in a large and diverse across-breed population. A total of 301 ponies, 292 Morgans, 64 Arabians, 49 Tennessee Walking Horses and 59 Quarter Horses were genotyped for six observed G repeat alleles in the FAM174A 3′ UTR. Phenotype data included laminitis status, baseline insulin, glucose, non-esterified fatty acids, triglycerides, adiponectin, leptin, ACTH, insulin and glucose post oral sugar test, and two proxies for insulin resistance. The 11G allele frequencies were 18.8, 6.9, 1.8, 0.2 and 0.0% in the Arabians, Tennessee Walkers, ponies, Morgans and Quarter Horses respectively. Association analyses between FAM174A genotype and EMS phenotypes, and between allele count and EMS phenotypes, identified no statistically significant associations. When a dominant effect for the 11G allele was evaluated, a statistically significant association with adiponectin levels was identified in the ponies, and pairwise comparisons revealed that the estimated marginal means were higher in ponies with the 11G allele vs. alternative alleles (i.e. the allele had a protective effect). In conclusion, our data do not support the FAM174A 11G allele as a risk allele for EMS in our studied breeds.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)607-610
Number of pages4
JournalAnimal Genetics
Volume51
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 1 2020

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This work was supported by the Morris Animal Foundation D17EQ‐019 and Morris Animal Foundation Doctoral Fellowship D17EQ‐402.

Funding Information:
This work was supported by the Morris Animal Foundation D17EQ-019 and Morris Animal Foundation Doctoral Fellowship D17EQ-402.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Stichting International Foundation for Animal Genetics

Keywords

  • EMS
  • adiponectin
  • genetic risk factors
  • genetics
  • horse
  • insulin dysregulation
  • laminitis

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