Association of growth performance and body conformational traits with BMP4 gene variation in Barki lambs

Abstract

The objective of this study was to test the association of the variation in a 360 bp region in exon 2 of the ovine bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4) gene with growth performance (birth weight, pre-weaning average daily gain, weaning weight, post-weaning average daily gain and marketing weight) and body conformational traits (height at withers, height at hips, body length, heart girth, thigh circumference, body mass index, skeletal muscle index, body index and relative body index) in 242 Barki lambs using polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformational polymorphism (PCR-SSCP). Two variants (A and B) and three genotypes (AA, AB and BB) were detected. The BMP4 genotype significantly affected (p < .05 or p < .01) post-weaning daily gain, marketing weight, height at hips, thigh circumference, body mass index and skeletal muscle index. The results provided valuable information indicating selection for the BMP4 genotype might increase growth and muscularity in Barki lambs.

Keywords:

• BMP4 genotypes
• growth performance
• body conformation
• Barki sheep

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank the technical staffs of Maryout Research Station for collecting blood samples and taping the body measurements of lambs.

Compliance with ethical standards

The care and use of experiment animals were performed in accordance with the ethical standards laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments.

Disclosure statement

The author declares that there are no conflicts of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Desert Research Center that belongs to the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, Egypt, under grant [Budget 2015-2016].