Three Previously Unseen Genotypes Detected in IGFBP - 3 Gene in Buffalo Breed

Anatolian water buffalo breed is Turkey’s sole water buffalo breed, and their numbers steadily increased with the national “Water Buffalo Breeding by Breeders Project”. This study aimed to investigate of the gene region polymorphisms (Intron-2, Exon-2/Intron-3, Exon-3) of the meat-yield-related Insulin-like Growth Factor Binding Protein-3 (IGFBP-3) gene in Anatolian water buffaloes by TaqI, HaeIII, and MspI restriction endonucleases. The phenol/chloroform method was used for DNA isolation from 151 blood samples, and extracted DNAs were amplified by touchdown PCR using specific primers. Amplified PCR products were digested with restriction endonucleases (REs) and separated in 3% agarose gel electrophoresis (AGE), then genotypes were determined. Results revealed two genotypes [AA (98.68%) and AC (1.32%)] and two alleles [A (0.99) and C (0.01)] for the Exon-2 to Intron-3 region from HaeIII digestion. TaqI digestion of the Intron-2 region revealed three genotypes [AA (7.94%), AB (3.97%), and BB (88.10%)] and two alleles [A (0.10) and B (0.90)]. MspI digestion of the Exon-3 region revealed only the AA genotype and A allele, thus revealing monomorphism. Overall, HaeIII digestion revealed insignificant polymorphism (P>0.05), and TaqI digestion revealed significant polymorphism (P<0.001) for their respective regions. Gene polymorphisms of these regions were investigated for the first time in Anatolian water buffaloes. Additionally, three novel genotypes for the IGFBP-3 gene (one from HaeIII and two from TaqI) were determined for the first time. The novel B allele from TaqI digestion was observed to have a substantial frequency.