Polymorphism of Myostatin Gene in Intron 1 and 2 and Exon 3, and Their Associations with Yearling Weight, Using PCR-RFLP and PCR-SSCP Techniques in Zel Sheep

<p>The aim of present study was to investigate myostatin gene polymorphism and its association with yearling weight records in Zel sheep using <i>PCR-RFLP</i> and <i>PCR-SSCP</i> methods. Blood samples were collected from 200 Zel sheep, randomly, and DNA was extracted using modified salting outmethod. Polymerase chain reaction was carried out to amplify 337, 222, and 311 bp fragments, respectively, comprising a part of exon 3, intron 1, and intron 2 of myostatin gene. In addition, exon 3 was digested by <i>HaeIII</i> enzyme under <i>RFLP</i> method, and introns 1 and 2 were studied using <i>SSCP</i>. Under <i>RFLP</i> method, all samples showed <i>mm</i> genotype. Under <i>SSCP</i> method, intron 1 was also monomorph but intron 2 was polymorph (AA, AB, and BB). The allelic frequencies for <i>A</i> and <i>B</i> were 75.5 and 24.5%, respectively. This locus was not in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (<i>P</i> < 0.05), and there was no significant effect of myostatin gene on yearling weights.</p>