Association of PLAG1 and IGF-1R genes with body weight and morphometric traits at different growth periods in Madura cattle

Madura cattle are one of Indonesia’s native beef breeds. The Pleomorphic Adenoma Gene 1 (PLAG1) regulates growth, while the Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 Receptor (IGF-1R) gene is involved in cell development and metabolism. This study aimed to determine allele and genotype frequencies of PLAG1 and IGF-1R polymorphisms in Madura cattle and analyze their associations with growth traits. Genotyping was performed on 145 cattle from the BPTU-HPT Pelaihari breeding station using the PCR-RFLP method. The effects of genotypes on body weight and morphometric traits were analyzed using the General Linear Model (GLM) in R software. The amplified fragments were 628 bp for PLAG1/SacII and 604 bp for IGF-1R/MspI. Both loci were polymorphic. PLAG1 had two alleles (C and T) and three genotypes (CC, CT, TT), with the C allele being more frequent. IGF-1R showed A and G alleles and AA, AG, GG genotypes, with the G allele predominating. PLAG1/SacII genotypes were significantly associated with body weight and withers height at birth and one year of age. IGF-1R/MspI genotypes were significantly related to body length and withers height at weaning and one year. These results indicate that PLAG1 and IGF-1R are promising candidate genes for growth trait selection in Madura cattle.Highlights Polymorphisms in the PLAG1 (AC_000171.1:g.48308C > T) and IGF-1R (JQ924783.1:g.269418A > G) genes are significantly associated with key growth traits (body weight, body length, and withers height) at different developmental stages in Madura cattle, indicating their potential as genetic markers for marker-assisted selection (MAS). This study provides the first molecular evidence of growth-related gene variations in Indonesian Madura cattle, contributing to the genetic improvement of local breeds through integration of molecular breeding tools into traditional selection programs.