Allelic and genotypic frequencies of ASIP and MC1R genes in four West African sheep populations

In West Africa, consumers pay a major attention on the coat colour of the sheep due to religious and cultural reasons. White coated individuals reach selling prices up to three-fold higher than black coated sheep. The aim of this study was to ascertain the genotypic and allelic frequencies of MC1R and ASIP genes in order to assess possible implementation of breeding programmes focusing on the increase of the white coated sheep frequencies. A total of 113 individuals belonging to three Burkina Faso sheep breeds (Burkina-Sahel, Djallonké and Mossi) and one Niger sheep breed (Touareg) were genotyped for the MC1R and ASIP genes. The wild allele of the ASIP gene (A wt ; 54.30%) was the most frequent in the four West African sheep, particularly in Burkina-Sahel (85%) and Touareg breeds (80%). The dominant black E D allele was not identified in Burkina-Sahel and Touareg. Most of the analysed individuals were homozygous for wild MC1R allele (E + /E + ) with 100, 73.5, 59 and 100% frequency in Burkina-Sahel, Djallonké, Mossi and Touareg, respectively. The A wt /A wt was the most frequent genotype on the ASIP gene in the four West African breeds (80.53%). No individuals were homozygous for the deletion (allele A del ). Although, no routine methods for detection of the genetic basis of the recessive black coat colour patterns can be easily implemented, the current results suggest the feasibility of a selection programme aiming at decreasing the frequencies of the dominant black E D allele in Burkina Faso sheep breeds.