Vet World   Vol.19   February-2026  Article - 22 

Identification of novel fatty acid-binding protein 4 polymorphisms and association of g.5002C>T with longissimus dorsi thickness in Indonesian Bali cattle (Bos javanicus)

Background and Aim: The fatty acid-binding protein 4 (FABP4) gene is a key regulator of lipid metabolism and has been linked to carcass and meat quality traits in several cattle breeds. However, genetic variation in FABP4 and its phenotypic relevance in Bali cattle (Bos javanicus), an important indigenous Indonesian breed, remains poorly characterized. This study aimed to identify novel single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the FABP4 gene of Bali cattle and to evaluate their associations with in vivo ultrasound-measured carcass traits and fatty acid composition. 

Materials and Methods: Blood samples were collected from 95 Bali cattle bulls sourced from a single population. Genomic DNA was extracted, and a 721-bp fragment of FABP4 spanning intron 2 to exon 4 was amplified and sequenced using the Sanger method. SNP detection and sequence alignment were performed using standard bioinformatics tools. Carcass and meat quality traits, including longissimus dorsi thickness (LDT), backfat thickness (BFT), marbling score (MS), and intramuscular fat (IMF), were measured in live animals using ultrasound imaging. Fatty acid composition was determined from post-mortem muscle samples using gas chromatography–flame ionization detection. Associations between FABP4 genotypes and phenotypic traits were analyzed using a general linear model, with statistical significance set at p < 0.05. 

Results: Four novel FABP4 SNPs were identified: g.4631T>C, g.4724T>C, and g.4769G>A located in intron 3, and g.5002C>T located in exon 4. The g.5002C>T variant was a nonsynonymous substitution resulting in a valine-to-alanine amino acid change. Among the identified polymorphisms, only g.5002C>T showed a significant association with LDT (p = 0.0296). Animals carrying the CT genotype exhibited greater LDT compared with CC and TT genotypes. No significant associations were observed between any FABP4 SNPs and BFT, MS, IMF, or fatty acid composition. 

Conclusion: This study provides the first evidence of FABP4 genetic variation in Bali cattle and demonstrates that the g.5002C>T polymorphism is significantly associated with LDT. The CT genotype at this locus may serve as a potential genetic marker for improving muscle development in Bali cattle, subject to validation in larger and independent populations. 

Keywords: Bali cattle, Bos javanicus, FABP4 gene, fatty acid composition, meat quality traits, single-nucleotide polymorphism, ultrasound imaging.

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How to cite this article: Dairoh D., Ulum M.F., Sutikno S., Furqon A., Khaerunnisa I., Sumantri C., Jakaria J. Identification of novel fatty acid-binding protein 4 polymorphisms and association of g.5002C>T with longissimus dorsi thickness in Indonesian Bali cattle (Bos javanicus). Vet World. 2026;19(2):760–770.

Received: 18-09-2025   Accepted: 09-01-2026   Published online: 26-02-2026

Corresponding author: Jakaria Jakaria    E-mail: jakaria@apps.ipb.ac.id

DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2026.760-770

Copyright: Dairoh, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.