BIOCHEMICAL POLYMORPHISMS IN SHEEP AND THEIR POTENTIAL USE FOR PATERNITY TESTS

• Main Authors: Luiz Ernani Henkes, Tania de Azevedo Weimer, José Carlos Ferrugem de Moraes
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade Federal de Santa Maria 1994-12-01
• Series: Ciência Rural
• Subjects: Ovinos; polimorfismos genéticos; testes de paternidade
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0103-84781994000300023&lng=en&tlng=en

The genetic variability of 22 protein loci was investigated in two sheep flocks: 22 females Romney Marsh and 124 animals derived from crossbreeding between Romney Marsh and Merino Booroola, reared by the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária -EMBRAPA, Bagé, RS, Brazil). Eight loci were polymorphic; the others showed no variation. The usefulness of the eight plymorphic systems (Cat, DIA I, EP-1, EsA, HbB, ME, Tf, and X Prot.) in parentage tests was analyzed. The probability to find two random identical animals in each breed was estimated as 1:1000. The efficiency of these proteins for exclusion of one of two possible sires in parentage tests was about 77% both for Romney Marsh and Romney/ Booroola flocks. Although parentage tests in sheep have not been enforced in Brazil up to now, the establishment of this technique is important for the prevention of non-paternity on the excellent rams.