DNA Polymorphism of Bovine Pituitary-Specific Transcription Factor and Leptin Gene Between Iranian Bos indicus and Bos taurus Cattle

Problem statement: Variations at DNA level contribute to the genetic characterization of livestock populations and this may help to identify possible hybridization events as well as past evolutionary trends. Approach: The leptin and Pit-1 are attractive candidate genes for production and reproduction traits in cattle. A total of 247 Animals from four breeds from two species of Iranian cattle populations in include Bos taurus (Sarabi, Golpayegani) and Bos indicus (Sistani, Taleshi) were genotyped for the Pit-1 HinfI and leptin Sau3AI polymorphisms by the Polymerase Chain Reaction and Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). Results: The genotype and gene frequencies for each group were determined and shown to be quite variable among the breeds. The allele B for the leptin gene and allele A for the Pit-1 gene were investigated high frequency in Bos indicus. Conclusion: Present result supported the previously proposed long evolutionary separation of these cattle subrace. Candidate gene approach may be a useful method to measure of genetic distance for cross breeding program between taurin and indicine cattle.