부산대학교 도서관

Genetic improvement programs may improve disease resistance in animal production. The best-characterized genetic control of disease resistance and immune response in animals is the one associated with the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC). The ovine lymphocyte antigen of DRB1 gene encodes cell surface glycoproteins that initiate immune responses by presenting processed antigenic peptides to CD4 + T helper cells. DRB1 is the most polymorphic gene in sheep and it has been extensively evaluated as a candidate marker for associations with various ovine diseases and immunological traits. Aim of this study was to analyze exon 2 Ovar-DRB1 gene polymorphism in two Iranian native sheep breeds (Afshari and Zel). PCR products were characterized by the restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) technique using two restriction enzymes, RsaI and HaeIII. In the studied groups of Afshari Sheep and Zel Sheep of Iran we were able to identify 9 restriction patterns (a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h and i) for the fragments of exon 2 Ovar-DRB1 gene with RsaI enzymatic digestion and 5 patterns (a, b, c, d and e) with HaeIII enzyme, including one previously unrecognized allele (c). Our results indicate that exon 2 of the Ovar-DRB1 gene is highly polymorphic in both breeds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]