Presence of SNPs in GDF9 mRNA of Iranian Afshari Sheep

Background: Multiple births occur frequently in some Iranian sheep breeds, while infertility scarcely occurs. Mutation detection in major fecundity genes has been explored in most of Iranian sheep flocks over the last decade. However, previously reported single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for bone morphogenetic protein receptor-(BMPR)-1B and growth differentiation factor) GDF9 ( known to affect fertility have not been detected. This study was conducted to assess whether any significant mutations in GDF9 were extracted from slaughtered ewe ovaries of Iranian Afshari sheep breed. Materials and Methods: Ovaries defined as poor, fair, and excellent quality based on external visual appearance of follicles were used for histology and RNA extraction processes. High quality RNAs underwent reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) from GDF9 mRNA, and the products sequenced. Results: No streak ovaries, which are considered indicators of infertility due to homozygocity for some mutations in GDF9 and BMP15, were found. Sequencing results from GDF9 cDNA showed that G2 (C471T), G3 (G477A), and G4 (G721A) mutations were observed from 1, 4, and 1 out o