Polymorphism of BMP2 Gene Associated with Growth Traits in Guizhou Semi-Fine Wool Sheep

Bone Morphogenetic Protein 2 (BMP2) plays a crucial role in bone growth. The objective of this study was to investigate variations in sheep BMP2 gene and their associations with growth traits in 320 Guizhou Semi-Fine Wool sheep. Five fragments of BMP-2 gene were investigated only exon2 region of BMP-2 gene showed polymorphism after PCR-SSCP and DNA sequencing methods. There was one G > A (g. 273 G > A) mutation located in nucleotide position of GenBank Accession No. EU854586 which constructed three genotypes (LL, LW and WW). The frequencies of allele L and genotype LL were dominant in Guizhou Semi-Fine Wool sheep. The PIC (Polymorphism Information Content) values of the Guizhou Semi-Fine Wool sheep were 0.3261 belong to median polymorphism. Associations between growth traits and BMP2 gene polymorphism were investigated and significant statistical association results were found in body height, body length and chest circumference (p < 0.05). These results strongly suggested that the BMP2 gene is a candidate gene that influences growth traits in Guizhou Semi-Fine Wool sheep. Further investigations are required for detecting the polymorphism of this gene in a broad variety of sheep breeds and populations.