Variation in ovine affects mean staple length and opacity of wool fiber.

In this study, keratin-associated proteins gene () from five different sheep breeds and breed-crosses ( = 310) was genotyped using a Polymerase Chain Reaction-Single Strand confirmation Polymorphism (PCR-SSCP). Six unique genotypes were observed: and , with being the most common in the different breeds and crosses. Twelve wool characteristics: yield, mean staple length (MSL), bulk, mean fiber diameter (MFD), fiber diameter standard deviation (FDSD), coefficient of variation of fiber diameter (CVFD), medullation, standard deviation of medullation (MeSD), coefficient of variation of medullation (CVMed), opacity, standard deviation of opacity (OpSD), and coefficient of variation of opacity (CVOp) were measured on wool derived from the sheep. Variation in was found to have strong association with MSL, OpSD and CVOp ( ≤ 0.027). The MSL of sheep of genotype was greater ( = 0.027) than for sheep of genotype . The OpSD of sheep of genotype was less ( = 0.017) than sheep with the genotype, and the CVOp of sheep with genotype was less ( = 0.018) than sheep with genotype . Further studies are required to confirm the role of variation in in improving quality wool production.