DETECTION OF POLYMORPHISM IN BOOROOLA GENE (FecB) AND ITS ASSOCIATION WITH LITTER SIZE IN ZEL SHEEP BREED IN IRAN

Sixty eight adult ewes of Zel sheep breed were screened with forced PCR RFLP method for the detection of the FecB gene and its effects on litter size. Genomic DNA was extracted from the blood of 68 Zel matured ewes with litter size varied from 1 to 2 lambs per ewe lambing. Digestion of the FecB gene (190 base pairs) with AvaII restriction enzyme resulted in none carrier 190 bp band wild type in 67 samples, which revealed the presence of this mutation in the tested Zel sheep breeds. Results showed that the polymorphism frequencies of FecB gene were significantly imbalanced in this breed. Zel sheep breed had two different Booroola genotypes (B+ and ++). The FecB mutation was found in one sample, whereas the sample of 67 Zel sheep included two genotypes. In the Zel sheep, the genotype frequencies of BB, B+ and ++ were 0 %, 1.47 % and 98.53 % respectively. Regarding the litter size trait within the different genotype of Zel sheep it was shown that the mean litter size of ewes with the genotype B+ were 2, whereas ewes with the genotype ++ had lower mean (1.73) with one and two litter size. The results of the present study revealed polymorphism of the FecB gene in Zel breed.