GENETIC MARKERS IN SHEEP BREEDING

Abstract

Nowadays, the promising goals in the farm animal breeding are the identification of
meat productivity and sheep proliferation parameters. The improvement of these qualities will
allow creating a gene pool. As a result, it will improve the productivity of high-quality
mutton. Marker assisted selection (MAS) is widely used with DNA markers which are closely
linked to locus that determine important traits in sheep breeding. Therefore, candidate genes
associated with such indicators are disclosed that identify single nucleotide polymorphisms
(SNPs), which determine the variability of the productivity level. Studies have established
that promising genetic markers are the following: CAST (calpastatin), GH (growth hormone,
somatotropin), GDF9 (growth differentiation factor), and BMPR-1B (bone morphogenetic
protein receptor type 1B). The aim of this review was to analyze the current state of research
on genes identification that control meat productivity and reproductive qualities of sheep.