Association between MYLK4 gene polymorphism and growth traits at different age stages in Anatolian black cattle.

This study aims to find the association between MYLK4 gene polymorphism and growth traits at different ages, such as birth, 3rd-month, 6th-month and 12th-month ages in Anatolian black cattle. PCR-RFLP method was used to detect the polymorphism for MYLK4 gene in at G61595A locus. Allele and genotype frequencies were A: 0.34, G: 0.66 and AA: 0.17, AG: 0.34 and GG: 0.49. The chi-square χ2 test showed an agreement to Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (p > .01). GLM and RRM models were used to estimate the association between MYLK4 gene polymorphism and growth traits. The results of the statistical analysis indicated an association between MYLK4 gene polymorphism and growth traits at different stage ages in Anatolian black cattle. Therefore, the G61595A mutation of MYLK4 gene can be used as a genetic marker for the selection of growth and development traits in the cattle breeding programs.