Polymorphism of growth hormone gene in Malabari goats (Capra hircus)

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Date
2002
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Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Mannuthy
Abstract
Malabari goats are noted for their high milk yield and meat production qualities. They represent a unique genetic resource by virtue of their adaptability, resistance to many infectious diseases and prolificacy in the humid tropics of Kerala. They also exhibit considerable variation in individual performance in milk production, growth rate and fecundity. The growth hormone (GB) gene is a potential target for studies of molecular variation because of its possible direct or indirect effects upon growth, lactation and mammary gland development in dairy animals. The polymorphism in the third intron of GH gene was investigated by polymerase chain reaction (peR) and restriction endonuclease digestion. Genomic DNA was isolated from a random sample of 196 genetically unrelated Malabari does in second lactation belonging to three different population groups based on geographical locations. The mean yields of DNA from 5 ml of whole blood extracted by phenol-chloroform was 231.097± 11.65 ug. The ratio of optical densities at 260 and 280 nm was above 1.7 indicating good deproteinisation. Oligonucleotide pnmers based on bovine sequences were used for amplification ofGH gene in goats. The successful amplification of the expected 768 bp fragment indicated the suitability of bovine primers for goats and conservation of DNA sequence in related species. The digestion of the amplified product with MspI restriction enzyme revealed two alle\es viz., Mspi (+) and MspI (-) with gene frequencies of 0.70 and 0.30, respectively. In the Malabari goats tested in this study only (+1+) and (+1-) GHIMspI genotypes were encountered where as none of the animal was of the (-1-) genotype. [t is suspected that the MspI (-) allele in the homozygous condition might be lethal or linked to a lethal gene. The population of the Malabari goats investigated in the present study was not under Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium though it was a large random mating one with no known mutation, or migration. Hence, it is suspected that the selection process acting against the (-/-) genotype through reduced viability or early embryonic death may be a possible reason for the disagreement of the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in Malabari goats for this locus. It was observed that the goat population was in genetic equilibrium with respect to growth hormone locus in all population groups. The genetic equilibrium might be indicative of the homogeneity of different population groups though they differed significantly w.ith respect to morphological and other phenotypic characters. Studies on the association of GHIMspJ genotypes with growth and milk traits in Malabari goats revealed the following results. The (+1-) genotype was superior to (+1+) genotype with respect to milk protein percentage in population-I, The (+1-) genotype was found to be associated with significantly high milk SNF percentage in population II and pooled population. The GHIMspI genotypes did not exhibit significant effect on body weight, body measurements, peak milk yield, milk fat and the litter size. The different population groups differed significantly with respect to body weight, body measurements like length, heart girth and height at withers, peak milk yield and I litter size. These results revealed the influence of management and other environmental effects on growth traits in Malabari goats. It is concluded that the typing of the MspI polymorphism using PeR-based procedure is a very efficient way to identify the GH genotypes in Malabari goats.
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172004
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