Correlation between expression level of the
bovine DNAJA1 gene and meat tenderness was recently
found in Charolais longissimus thoracis muscle samples,
suggesting that this gene could play an important role in
meat tenderness. Here, we report the validation of polymorphisms
within the bovine DNAJA1 gene, and the haplotype
variability and extent of linkage disequilibrium in
the three main French beef breeds (Blonde d’Aquitaine,
Charolais, Limousin). Genotyping 18 putative SNPs
revealed that 16 SNPs were polymorphic within the breeds
tested. Two SNPs were removed from further analyses as
one SNP had a low genotyping call rate, while the other
SNP was not in Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium. The degree
of heterozygosity observed for the remaining 14 SNPs
varied between breeds, with Charolais being the breed with
the highest genetic variation and Blonde d’Aquitaine the
lowest. Linkage disequilibrium and haplotype structure of
DNAJA1 were different between breeds. Eighteen different
haplotypes, including three shared by all breeds, were
discovered, and two to three tag SNPs (depending on the
breed) are sufficient to capture all the genetic variability
seen in these haplotypes. The results of this study will
facilitate the design of optimal future association studies
evaluating the role of the DNAJA1 gene in meat tenderness