Evaluation of κ-casein and growth hormone gene polymorphism in native Dalagh sheep

Abstract

In this research for studying genetic polymorphism of κ-casein (CSN3) and growth hormone (GH) genes as candidate genes for marker-assisted selection in different domestic livestock species, blood samples (120 samples) were collected from Dalagh sheep randomly. DNA was extracted from blood samples and a 416 bp fragment from exon 4 of the CSN3 gene and a 365 bp region from exon 5 of the GH gene were amplificated by polymerase chain reaction. PCR products were analyzed using single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) method on a polyacrilamide gel. Results indicate that there are two (K1=0.92 and K2=0.08) and three (G1=0.84, G2=0.13 and G3=0.03) conformational patterns for CSN3 and GH genes, respectively.