In the Search of Genetic Polymorphism of Bone Morphogenetic Protein with PCR-RFLP in Sheep

Barbarine sheepbreed play very important roles in Tunisian animal production. This study aims to identify polymorphism of prolificacy gene. A total of 334 ewes recorded with twining births from the Tunisian fat tail Barbarine sheep were genotyped in the objective to identify the FecXB mutation. The FecXB mutation of BMP15 located on the X chromosome was found in Belclare sheep breeding Irland and was showed very high ovulation rate. The FecXB genotyping was carried out by Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism PCR (RFLP-PCR). Only females that were known for giving multiple births were used in this study. Results showed that 142 individuals were heterozygous (FecXB+) and 192 non carriers (FecX++). The frequency of the FecXB allele in the genotyped group was 22%. Being able at an early age to identify future replacements carrying the FecXB mutation will help small holders as well as large flock owners improve the productivity of their flocks at lower replacements feeding costs.