Calpastatin polymorphism in Afshari sheep and its possible correlation with growth and carcass traits

Abstract

Calpastatin is special inhibitor of calpain that influence rate of muscle extension. It is a candidate marker for carcass and growth traits in livestock. In this study, a fragment of sheep calpastatin gene was analysed to investigate if mutations in this sequence might be responsible for carcass and growth traits. Carcass traits included fat and longissimus muscle (LM) thickness pre and post finishing and LM area after finishing. Growth traits included birth and weaning weight, 6 and 9 months weight, pre and post finishing weight and weight gain during different age intervals and finishing. Calpastatin polymorphism in Afshari sheep breed from Zanjan province in Iran was evaluated with RFLP method. The present study was conducted to evaluate the Calpastatin polymorphism of one Iranian sheep breed (Afshari), using RFLP method. The out coming result revealed 74% and 26% frequency for M and N alleles, respectively, which differ by having a number of restriction sites present in one allele but not in the other. Association of the polymorphisms with growth traits, carcass traits, and polymorphisms were analysed using a general linear model procedure. No significant associations were observed between these polymorphisms and growth and carcass traits.

Keywords:

• calpastatin
• polymorphism
• sheep
• carcass
• growth
• traits

Acknowledgements

We wish to thank colleagues for their technical assistance, H. Mehri, F. Emanikhah, and Dr S. Zakeri. We also wish to thank all staffs and students in Animal science department in the Zanjan University and also Malaria Research Group (MVRG) of biotechnology department in Pasteur Institute of Iran.