Asian Research Thesis Index

Abstract

Myostatin encoded by MSTN gene is very important growth factor related to the ? super family. Its expression causes the fat production and muscle deregulation. The variation in MSTN gene has been associated with distinction in muscularity in animals. Double muscling can be observed in several farm animals including goat, sheep, pig, cattle, horse, and also in fish. The knowledge of variation in MSTN gene is necessary to be explored in wild animals. In the current study we hypothesized that the variation within the MSTN gene may be important in identifying the genomic region that would be responsible for significant phenotypes. Therefore the MSTN gene previously referred as GDF8 gene was studied in the Punjab Urial, considered it as one of the wild ancestors of domestic sheep found in the North of the Punjab province of Pakistan. The samples from wild and captivity were subjected to DNA extraction, PCR and sequencing.

The sequenced product (373bp) includes 5? untranslated region (UTR), 67 base pair upstream from the start codon (ATG), complete exon 1 of the MSTN gene and partial intron 1 region. The coding region contained 372 bp. In untranslated region one substitution and one indel (deletion) was observed. One substitution (A>C) was reported on position 3564 of the MSTN gene and the indel (deletion) was identified at 3574 bp position. All the sequences were compared with the reported sequences on GenBank. The analysis shows the presence of thiamine in the wild sequence .This is the preliminary study of MSTN gene in the wild Punjab Urial. Further studies might give us a deep insight of important MSTN gene in wild as well as domestic animals.

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