Detection of Diacylglycerol Acyltransferase 1 (DGAT1) Gene Polymorphism in Imroz and Chios Sheep Breeds in Turkey Using PCR-RFLP Method

DGAT1 which catalyzes the last step of triacylglycerol synthesis has two alleles of the in animals (DGAT1(A) and DGAT1(K)), the allele carrying the amino acid Lysine (K) is associated with milk with high fat content and low milk yield, whereas the allele carrying the amino acid Alanine (A) is the contrary. These alleles are known as candidate marker genes in choosing the animals for breeding. The aim of this study was to examine the genetic structures to the DGAT1 gene by PCR-RFLP method in Imroz (n=60) and Chios (n=52) sheep breeds. In this study, it was found that DGAT1 gene's allelic frequencies varied significantly between the two sheep breeds. The AA genotypic frequency was found the highest in Chios sheep breed (11.538%); the KK genotypic frequency was found the highest in Imroz sheep breed (68.333%) and the KA genotypic frequency was found the highest likewise in Imroz sheep breed (36.538%) in DGAT1 gene. In this study, the A allele frequency (0.702) was found higher than the K allele frequency in Imroz sheep breed. But, the K allele frequency (0.817) was found higher than the A allele in Chios sheep breed. It is believed that by increasing the DGAT1-like loci in order to ameliorate the milk yield capacity of native sheep breeds and merging the results obtained from these loci with the data and pedigree records of animals will prove especially useful to make better deductions and discoveries