The Expression of Myogenin and Myostatin Genes in Baluchi Sheep

Myogenin gene (MYoG) affects the synthesis of muscle myofibrillar growth and increase of meat production. The myostatin (MSTN) gene is identified as a specific negative regulator of skeletal muscle growth. Reduction of the expression level of MSTN through mutation in the sequence of this gene leads to an increase of myogenesis and regeneration of muscle cells during the postnatal growing period of sheep. The Baluchi sheep are among the most popular breeds of sheep for breeding in Iran and have an important portion in meat production industry of the country. In present work the relative expression level of the two candidate genes have been studied at two age intervals (9 and 12 months) in male and female Baluchi sheep. In order to analyze the relative expression level of MYoG and MSTN gene in Baluchi sheep’s longissimus muscles, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) reaction has been applied. Results of RT-PCR for sex effect showed MSTN and MYoG expression were not highly expressed in ram’ longissimus dorsi compared to ewe at the same age stages (P 0.05) and there were no significant differences between male 12 months comparing to female 12 months (P 0.05) and male 9 months with female 9 months (P 0.05). For the effect of age, relative expression of MYoG and MSTN genes on Baluchi sheep longissimus muscles did not show significant differences between males or females (P 0.05).