Characterization of MTNR1A gene in terms of genetic variability in a panel of subtemperate and subtropical Indian sheep breeds

Seasonality of animals is an important adaptive trait for successful survival and production during limited food availability and extreme environmental conditions. Photoperiodic changes in day length are utilized by these seasonal animals as an important environmental cue for regulating their annual rhythms of reproduction cycles. Melatonin is an important hormone which is secreted by the pineal gland in proportion to darkness and its effect is mediated by melatonin receptor subtypes, principally MTNR1A. In the present study, polymorphism in the coding sequence at two important SNPs (C606T and G612A), known to be markers for out of season breeding in sheep were studied by PCR-RFLP in a panel of four breeds of sheep from subtemperate and subtropical arid conditions, respectively. The frequencies of ‘G’ and ‘A’ alleles with reference to G612A SNP did not differ considerably among all the breeds of sheep. Frequency of ‘T’ allele of the C606T SNP was found to be dominantly higher in subtemperate sheep breeds in comparison to subtropical sheep breeds. Identified SNPs in the coding region were mostly synonymous and did not lead to any change in conformation of the MTNR1A receptor protein.