Study of polymorphism in myostatin gene in Chaal, Zel and Zandi Iranian sheep Breeds

Myostatin (MSTN), also known as growth and differentiation factor-8 (GDF8), is a member of the transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) superfamily that decreases growth in mammals. A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the myostatin (GDF8) 3'UTR of OAR2 has been known as responsible for muscular hypertrophy in foreign breeds. In this study, in order to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in the myostatin (GDF8) gene, blood samples were collected from a population set of Chaal (n = 20), Zandi (n = 24) and Zel sheep (n = 17) lambs. Genomic DNA was extracted from the whole blood samples and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was carried out in order to amplify a 1003 bp fragment of the target gene and PCR products sequenced to detect single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP). Comparison of the sequence of the target gene in Gene Bank with our results of sequencing showed all animals had the g. + 6223G allele in the 3'UTR of myostatin which do not cause double muscle (DM) phenotype.