Single-Nucleotide Polymorphisms Identified within Exon 2 of Fertility-Associated Bone Morphogenetic Protein (BMP15) Gene in Three Romanian Sheep Breeds

Alexandru Marius Deac, Adriana Sebastiana Musca, Stefania Dana Mesesan, Marius Gavril Aipatioaie, Adrian Ionascu, Viorica Cosier, Attila Cristian Ratiu (), Ileana Miclea, Ioan Ladosi () and Marius Zahan
Additional contact information
Alexandru Marius Deac: Faculty of Animal Science and Biotechnology, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Adriana Sebastiana Musca: Faculty of Animal Science and Biotechnology, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Stefania Dana Mesesan: Faculty of Animal Science and Biotechnology, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Marius Gavril Aipatioaie: Faculty of Animal Science and Biotechnology, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Adrian Ionascu: Department of Genetics, Faculty of Biology, University of Bucharest, 060101 Bucharest, Romania
Viorica Cosier: Faculty of Animal Science and Biotechnology, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Attila Cristian Ratiu: Department of Genetics, Faculty of Biology, University of Bucharest, 060101 Bucharest, Romania
Ileana Miclea: Faculty of Animal Science and Biotechnology, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Ioan Ladosi: Faculty of Animal Science and Biotechnology, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Marius Zahan: Faculty of Animal Science and Biotechnology, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Agriculture, 2023, vol. 13, issue 5, 1-14

Abstract: The improvement of the reproductive traits of animals is of great interest for livestock production. Due to its positive impact on the sheep industry’s profitability, prolificacy is one of the most economically significant biological traits, showing variation between and within breeds of domestic sheep ( Ovis aries ). Different mutations in BMPR-1B , BMP15 and GDF9 genes coding for the transforming growth factor-β (TGFβ) superfamily have been shown to influence the ovulation rate and litter size. Numerous single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the bone morphogenetic protein 15 ( BMP15 ) gene have been linked to ewe fecundity. Using targeted PCR amplification and Sanger sequencing, we were able to identify heterozygous SNPs in exon 2 of BMP15 in three sheep breeds reared in Romania: Tsigai, Cluj Merino and Tsurcana. The sequence analysis revealed three previously documented mutations, namely the missense mutation c.755T>C (L252P), which is predicted to change the tertiary structure of the BMP15 protein, and two silent mutations, c.747T>C (P249P) and c.1047G>A (V349V). In addition, we also identified one novel silent mutation, c.825G>A (S275S). Based on our findings and publicly available data, we indicate four putative mutational hotspots within exon 2 of BMP15 that could be considered for improving the indigenous sheep breeds through targeted gene editing and SNP genotyping strategies.

Keywords: SNPs; BMP15; FecX; Tsigai; Cluj Merino; Tsurcana; litter size; fecundity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/13/5/996/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/13/5/996/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jagris:v:13:y:2023:i:5:p:996-:d:1137266

Access Statistics for this article

Agriculture is currently edited by Ms. Leda Xuan

More articles in Agriculture from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().