polymorphism of exon 2 of bone morphogenetic protein 15 gene (bmp15) and its relationship with litter size in najdi goat

this study was conducted to detect polymorphism of gene bmp15, a member of transforming growthfactor β (tgfβ) family which has a crucial role in controlling the ovarian follicles development,ovulation rate and fertility. samples were randomly selected from 91 najdi goats in 3 geographicallocations, northwest, southeast and center of khuzestan province. after dna extraction, amplification of235 bp fragment of exon 2 of bmp15 gene was performed using specific primers. sequence detectionwas executed after amplification of gene fragments. the association of bmp15 gene and litter size wasdone by sas software. results from sequencing were analyzed by vector nti software. the resultsidentified three mutations in bases 529 (t to g), 530 (c to g) and 576 (t to c). the largest litter sizebelongs to aa pattern. point mutations in this gene will alter the ovulation rate of the goat. therefore,improving twining trait in najdi population can be expected by marker assisted selection.