Phylogenetic differentiation between Awassi and Hamdani sheep using the mitochondrial 12S rRNA.

This study was conducted to assess the role of the mitochondrial 12S rRNA variations in the phylogenetic discrimination between two Iraqi breeds of sheep that differ in geographical distribution. A total of 122 animals (68 Awassi and 54 Hamdani) were included in the study. Direct sequencing of amplicons followed by the construction of a median-joining network and several trees were performed to identify the possible phylogenetic differences between both involved breeds.

GHRL gene-based genotyping of ovine and caprine breeds reveals highly polymorphic intronic sequences in Awassi sheep with several RNA motifs.

Background: The current study was conducted to identify the genetic polymorphism of ghrelin (GHRL) gene of sheep and goats, as well as to determine whether these polymorphisms were associated with the evolutionary genetic differences in the involved species. This study was performed on 233 sheep and 91 goats. Two genetic loci of 113 bp and 262 bp partially spanning over exon 2/intron 2 and intron 4/exon 5 of GHRL gene respectively were amplified and genotyped using polymerase chain reaction-single-strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) and DNA sequencing methods.