High mobility group box containing 3 (HMGXB3) gene polymorphism and its association with body weight and morphometric traits in goat breeds of Kerala

A study was conducted to identify single nucleotide variations in HMG-box containing 3 (HMGXB3) gene and to investigate their effect on body weight and conformation traits in Malabari (n= 169) and Attappady black (n= 65) goat breeds of Kerala. Adult body weight, height at withers (P<0.05) and chest girth (P<0.01) differed significantly between Malabari and Attappady black goats. Genomic DNA was extracted from the blood samples and a missense variant (T>C) was identified in the HMGXB3 gene at 49038640 bp position on chromosome 7 and genotyped using high-resolution melting (HRM). HRM analysis of HMGXB3 revealed CC, TT and CT genotypes as distinct clusters in plots. CT genotype frequency was the highest in Malabari, while in Attappady black, CC was the most frequent genotype. Attappady black population deviated significantly (P<0.05) from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE). The genotypic patterns of HMGXB3 had no significant effect on body weight and all other morphometric traits in both breeds. The study recommends a comprehensive investigation involving a larger and diverse sample of goat breeds to explore various HMGXB3 gene variants, concurrently examining diverse growth and meat-related traits.