Genetic variability of tyrosinase gene in Egyptian camel breeds and its association with udder and body measurements traits in Maghrebi camel breed

Abstract

The objectives of the current study were: first, to estimate the polymorphism of the tyrosinase (TYR) gene among four Egyptian camel breeds (Maghrebi, Sudani, Somali, and Falahy), second, to estimate the body and udder measurements of the most important dromedary camel breed in Egypt (Maghrebi) and third, to investigate the possible association between TYR gene polymorphism with body and udder measurements of Maghrebi breed. Hair samples were collected from 124 female dromedary camels belonging to four Egyptian breeds: Maghrebi (n = 70), Sudani (n = 17), Somali (n = 25), and Falahy (n = 12) for DNA extraction. Fourteen body and twelve udder measurement traits were evaluated for 35 female Maghrebi camels. The non-synonymous C/T SNP of TYR gene were genotyped by using DdeI restriction enzyme. Across the four investigated camel breeds, the CT heterozygote genotype recorded the highest frequency of 45%. Our results showed that the C/T SNP of TYR gene had significant association with Neck length (NL), Height at wither (HW) and Chest girth (TG) traits with the highest values observed for individuals carrying the CT genotype. Moreover, our study showed that the C/T SNP of TYR gene had significant association with teat separation (TS) and teat floor distance (TFD) traits with the highest values observed for camels carrying the CC and CT genotypes respectively. This information of our study may be useful for the design of appropriate selection and breeding strategy for optimal utilization and improvement of Egyptian camel genetic resources.