Progress on the effect of FecB mutation on BMPR1B activity and BMP/SMAD pathway in sheep.

BMPR1B is the first major gene of litter size identified in sheep. However, the molecular mechanism of the FecB mutation that increases the ovulation rate in sheep is still unclear. In recent years, it has been demonstrated that BMPR1B activity is regulated by the small molecule repressor protein FKBP1A, which acts as a key activity switch of the BMPR1B in the BMP/SMAD pathway. The FecB mutation is located close to the binding site of FKBP1A and BMPR1B. In this review, we summarize the structure of BMPR1B and FKBP1A proteins, and clarify the spatial interactive domains of the two proteins with respect to the location of the FecB mutation. Then the relationship between the FecB mutation and the degree of affinity of the two proteins are predicted. Finally, the hypothesis that FecB mutation causes change of activity in BMP/SMAD pathway by affecting the intensity of the interactions between BMPR1B and FKBP1A is proposed. This hypothesis provides a new clue to investigate the molecular mechanism of FecB mutation affecting ovulation rate and litter size in sheep.BMPR1B是绵羊中被鉴定的第一个多羔主效基因，但该基因中FecB突变增加绵羊排卵数的分子机制尚未解析。近年来发现BMPR1B活性受小分子抑制蛋白FKBP1A调控，该蛋白充当了BMPR1B及BMP/SMAD通路活性控制开关的关键作用且FecB突变恰好位于FKBP1A与BMPR1B结合位点附近。本文首先总结了BMPR1B和FKBP1A的蛋白结构，阐明二者空间结合区域及FecB突变的位置，进而预测了FecB突变与二者结合强弱的关系，最终提出了FecB突变通过影响BMPR1B与FKBP1A结合强度改变BMP/SMAD通路活性的科学假设，为后续探明FecB突变影响绵羊排卵数的分子机制提供了新思路。.