Polymorphisms of Growth Differentiation Factor 9 (GDF 9)and Bone Morphogenetic Protein 15 (BMP15) Genes in Barki and Rahmani Sheep Breeds

Blood samples from 100 ewes (Barki and Rhmani breeds, 50 each) were collected from a private farm at Giza Governorate for determination of polymorphisms of bone morphogenetic protein 15 (BMP15) and the growth differentiation factor 9 (GDF9) genes in the two breeds using PCR-RFLP and DNA sequencing.Restriction analysis of 712 bp < em>GDF9 gene (amplicon of exon I) using HhaI enzyme revealed 120, 254 and 338 fragments without any differences between the two breeds being tested. GDF9 gene exon II amplicon(713 bp) showed similar pattern of restriction in the two tested breeds with 4 bands (54, 62, 137 and 460bp) using HinfI enzyme. The restriction enzymes, HinfI, SpeI and XbaI, failed to digest the amplicons of exons I and II(500 bp, each) of BMP15 gene in all tested animals of both breeds suggesting absence of polymorphism. This study concluded that there was no polymorphism in the four exons between Barki and Rahmani sheep and the two breeds have the wild genotype with absence of any mutation.