Wang, JChe, LHickford, JonathanZhou, HuitongHao, ZLuo, YHu, JLiu, XLi, S2018-03-262017-11-172017-112017-11-13Wang et al. (2017). Identification of caprine keratin-associated protein 20-2 (KAP20-2) gene and its effect on cashmere traits. Genes, 8(11), 328. doi:10.3390/genes81103282073-4425FO4GS (isidoc)29149036 (pubmed)https://hdl.handle.net/10182/9190The gene encoding the high glycine/tyrosine keratin-associated protein 20-2 (KAP20-2) gene has been described in humans, but has not been identified in any livestock species. A search for similar sequences in the caprine genome using the human KAP20-2 gene (KRTAP20-2) revealed a homologous sequence on chromosome 1. Three different banding patterns representing distinct sequences (A–C) in Longdong cashmere goats were identified using polymerase chain reaction-single stranded conformational polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) analysis. These sequences shared high sequence similarity with the human and mouse KRTAP20-2 sequences, suggesting that A–C are caprine variants of the human and mouse genes. Four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified, and three of them were non-synonymous. KRTAP20-2 was found to be expressed in secondary hair follicles, but not in heart, liver, lung, kidney, spleen, or longissimus dorsi muscle. The presence of A was associated with increased cashmere fibre weight, while the presence of B was associated with a decrease in cashmere fibre weight and curly fibre length. Goats with genotype AA had a higher cashmere fibre weight and a higher curly fibre length than those with genotypes AB or BB. These results indicate that caprine KRTAP20-2 variation may have value as a genetic marker for improving cashmere fibre weight.12 pagesElectroniceng© 2017 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).cashmere fibre weightkeratin-associated protein 20-2 (KAP20-2) genelength of the curly fibreLongdong cashmere goattissue expressionvariationJournal Article10.3390/genes8110328ANZSRC::060412 Quantitative Genetics (incl. Disease and Trait Mapping Genetics)ANZSRC::0604 GeneticsANZSRC::0702 Animal Production2073-4425ANZSRC::3105 Geneticshttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Attribution