title: Polymorphisms in  the ovine myostatin gene are associated with birth weight but not with weight  gain in Iranian Makoei sheep.
abstract: Myostatin,  a transforming growth factor-beta superfamily member, has been well documented  as a negative regulator of muscle growth and development. Myostatin, which has  376 amino acids, is synthesized as a precursor protein. Polymorphism of the  myostatin gene in Makoei sheep was investigated by PCR and single-strand conformation  polymorphism technique (SSCP). Genomic DNA of 92 sheep was isolated from whole  blood. A 417-bp myostatin intron I segment was amplified by standard  PCR, using locus-specific primers. Four SSCP patterns, representing four  different genotypes, were identified. The frequencies of the genotypes were  0.413, 0.293, 0.130, and 0.163 for AD, AC, AE, and BC, respectively. Allele  frequencies were 0.4185, 0.0815, 0.2283, 0.2065, and 0.0652 for A, B, C, D, and  E, respectively. Observed heterozygosity was 0.7192. There was significant  deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium for this locus. Analysis of myostatin  gene sequences revealed heterozygous SNPs, which were in agreement with results  obtained in the SSCP analysis. We concluded that SSCP analysis is a quick,  sensitive and reliable technique for determination of DNA polymorphisms. The  effect of these genotypes on some traits was investigated, and the AD genotype  was found to be associated with birth weight. No phenotypic associations were  detected with the other genotypes. No associations of myostatin variants with  weight gain were detected. We conclude that polymorphism in the ovine myostatin  gene is associated with birth weight, but not with weight gain in Iranian  Makoei sheep.
authors.affiliation: Young Researchers Club, Islamic Azad University, Khoy Branch, Khoy, Iran. mohammad.farhadian@yahoo.com
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Farhadian
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hashemi
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mardani
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Darvishzadeh
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jafari
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001724:Birth Weight / Q000235:genetics*; D001947:Breeding; D056726:Genetic Association Studies; D056426:Genetic Loci / Q000235:genetics; D005838:Genotype; D007492:Iran; D055435:Myostatin / Q000235:genetics*; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide / Q000235:genetics*; D018807:Polymorphism, Single-Stranded Conformational / Q000235:genetics; D034561:Sheep, Domestic / Q000235:genetics*; D015430:Weight Gain / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D055435:Myostatin