Published in Scientific Papers. Series D. Animal Science, Vol. LXVIII, Issue 2
Written by Nevyana STANCHEVA, Ivona DIMITROVA, Milena BOZHILOVA-SAKOVA
In sheep, melatonin has a significant effect on the reproductive system, acting through specific receptors - one of which is melatonin receptor 1A (MTNR1A). It regulates reproductive traits such as seasonality and litter size. The aim of this study was to identify polymorphic variants in exon 2 of the MTNR1A gene and to analyze their association with litter size in Awassi sheep breed in Bulgaria. The two alleles (wild C and mutant T) and the three possible genotypes (homozygous CC, heterozygous CT and homozygous TT) were established in the studied group of ewes. The wild allele C and the heterozygous genotype CT showed a higher frequency (0.61 and 0.51, respectively) than the mutant allele T (0.39) and the homozygous genotypes CC (0.36) and TT (0.13). No statistically significant difference in litter size was observed between the different genotypes of the MTNR1A gene – CC (1.35), CT (1.29) and TT (1.24).
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