Polymorphism of the calpastatin gene (CAST) in sheep of the Romanov breed

   The article presents the study of genetic features of Romanov sheep to identify polymorphisms in the calpastatin gene locus (CAST) and to determine allele and genotype frequencies. The paper emphasizes the importance of genetic markers for more effective breeding in genetic programs to improve the quality of meat of farm animals. The studies were conducted at the Novosibirsk State Agrarian University at the Department of Veterinary Genetics and Biotechnology. The CAST gene, localized on the fifth chromosome and consisting of 29 exons, was originally discovered in the Dorset Horn breed. Calpastatin is an inhibitor of calpains – calcium-dependent proteases involved in the regulation of various cellular processes. Two allelic variants were identified in the CAST gene: wild-type allele M and mutant allele N; and three genotypes: MM (contains sequences of length 336/286 bp), MN (622/336/286 bp), and NN (622/622 bp). According to the research conducted on 30 animals, the distribution of genotypes in the Romanov sheep breed is as follows: MM – 70 %, MN – 23 %, and NN – 7 %. The analysis indicates that the genotype distribution does not deviate from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium. The observed chi-square (χ²) value for the entire sample was lower than the expected chi-square value (χ² obs< χ² exp, α = 0.05). The results of this study were correlated with the results of the previous studies on other Russian sheep breeds, including the Tuvinian short-fat-tailed, West Siberian and Kulunda breeds. The predominance of the M allele has been observed, while the NN genotype is rare. It is possible that this genotype may be associated with reduced animal viability.

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