The Significance of a Multilocus Analysis for Assessing the Biodiversity of the Romanov Sheep Breed in a Comparative Aspect.

The Romanov breed was evaluated using immunological and genetic markers. The seven blood group systems were characterized with a greater accuracy than in previous works on sheep in the Russian Federation, and were compared to eight ruminant species. Unlike other breeds, Romanov sheep shows a higher frequency of than alleles.

A SNP in the HSP90AA1 gene 5' flanking region is associated with the adaptation to differential thermal conditions in the ovine species.

Molecular chaperones have long been understood to be preferentially transcribed in response to multiple perturbations of the cellular homeostasis. In this study, several polymorphisms in the gene encoding the inducible form of the cytoplasmic Hsp90 (HSP90AA1) were addressed in 24 sheep breeds reared in different climatic regions of Europe, Africa, and Asia. Significant differences in the genotype frequencies for a C/G single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) located at position -660 in the HSP90AA1 5'flanking region were found between the different breeds.