Polymorphism of DGAT1 Gene and Its Relationship with Carcass Weight and Dressing Percentage in Moghani Sheep Breed

The diacylglycerol acyltransferase 1 gene (DGAT1) was identified as a strong candidate gene affecting mutton quality traits in sheep. Single nucleotide polymorphism creates a single base mutation (C to T) in AGCT site of endonuclease AluI. DGAT1 is one of the candidate genes to improve carcass characteristics in feedlot animals. In order to study area T487C in exon 17 of the DGAT1 polymorphism, Iranian Moghani sheep breeds randomly slaughtered in the abattoir were recorded. DNA was extracted from 150 samples of Moghani sheep. Polymerase chain reaction to amplify 309 bp of exon 17 DGAT1 gene using a pair of spe-cific primers was performed. Genotypes obtained from method PCR-RFLP and directly from agarose gel. Two alleles T and C with frequencies of 0.829 and 0.171 were observed respectively. Statistical analysis showed polymorphism in exon 17 region of the gene significantly correlated with carcass weight and dress-ing percentage (P < 0.05). So that the CC genotypes of the significant mean carcass weight and dressing per-centage heavier than had TT genotypes (P < 0.05). Of polymorphism can be observed that improvement in breeding programs to improve carcass weight and dressing percentage through selection in favor of superior genotypes be used.