Ankyrin 1 (ANK1) gene has been demonstrated to be a functional candidate gene for meat quality that helps to constitute and maintain the structure of the cell skeleton. In this study, three contiguous ANK1 regions from yak were analyzed using polymerase chain reaction-single-stranded conformational polymorphism (PCR–SSCP). As a result, nine single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified, four of them in the coding region and three (c.179 C/A, c.250 G/C, and c.313 C/T) putatively resulting in amino acid changes (p. Ala 60 Glu, p. Asp 84 His, and p. Pro 105 Ser). Some SNPs in promoter region were located within or nearby the putative transcription factor binding sites, such as Sp1 and GATA, which might have an impact on the expression of the yak ANK1 gene. The presence of C₁–D₃ and C₁–A₃ were associated with an increased hot carcass weight (p = 0.0045) and a decreased drip loss rate (p = 0.0046). The presence of B₁–B₃, C₁–A₃ and C₁–D₃ had decreased Warner–Bratzler shear force (p = 0.0066, p = 0.0343 and p = 0.0004). The presence of one and two copies of B₁–B₃ and C₁–A₃ had decreased Warner–Bratzler shear force (p = 0.0005 and p = 0.0443), and C₁–A₃ had also decreased drip loss rate (p = 0.0164). These findings indicated that genetic variations of the ANK1 gene would be a preferable biomarker for the improvement of yak meat quality.

Ankyrin 1 ( ANK1 ) 基因已被证明是肉质的功能候选基因，有助于构成和维持细胞骨架的结构。在这项研究中，使用聚合酶链反应-单链构象多态性 (PCR – SSCP)分析了来自牦牛的三个连续ANK1区域。结果，鉴定了九个单核苷酸多态性 (SNP)，其中四个在编码区，三个（c.179 C/A、c.250 G/C 和 c.313 C/T）推定导致氨基酸变化（p. Ala 60 Glu、p. Asp 84 His 和 p. Pro 105 Ser）。启动子区的一些SNP位于推测的转录因子结合位点内或附近，如Sp1和GATA，这可能对牦牛的表达产生影响ANK1基因。C ₁ –D ₃和C ₁ –A ₃的存在与热屠体重量增加（p  = 0.0045）和滴水损失率降低（p  = 0.0046）有关。存在乙₁ -B ₃，c ^ ₁ -A ₃和c ^ ₁ -D ₃具有降低华纳- BRATZLER剪切力（p  = 0.0066，p  = 0.0343和p  = 0.0004）。B ₁ –B ₃的一个和两个副本的存在和c ^ ₁ -A ₃已经减少华纳- BRATZLER剪切力（p  = 0.0005和p  = 0.0443），和c ^ ₁ -A ₃也减少了滴水损失率（p  = 0.0164）。这些发现表明ANK1基因的遗传变异将是改善牦牛肉品质的优选生物标志物。