Assessment of the FecB mutation in three Indian sheep breeds, including Garole in its native tract, and its effect on prolificacy

摘要

The FecB fecundity gene is an autosomal dominant gene with large and additive effects on ovulation rate and litter size (LS) in sheep. Mutation (746 CAG > CGG; Q249R) in the highly conserved intracellular kinase domain increases corpora lutea by 1.6 and LS by about one extra lamb for each copy (FecBB) in the Booroola Merino (Davis et al. 2002). Incorporation of this mutation was from the Indian Garole to the Australian Egelabra Merino (Turner 1982). The native tract of Garole sheep is the coastal Sundarbans delta of West Bengal. We analysed the status of the FecB mutation and its correlation with LS in the Garole in and away from its native tract, and in two other Indian breeds, the Shahabadi and the Muzaffarnagari. In addition,we studied the effect of introduction of FecB8 from the Garole to the Muzaffarnagari. The FecB