Polymorphism of fecundity genes (BMP15 and GDF9) and their association with litter size in Bangladeshi prolific Black Bengal goat

Identification of prolificacy associated genetic markers remains vital in goat breeding industry since an increase in litter size can generate significant profit. Black Bengal is a prolific goat breed in Bangladesh. There are no inland reports on polymorphisms associated with fertility of Black Bengal goats in Bangladesh. In this study, we investigated two major fecundity genes-bone morphogenetic protein 15 (BMP15) and growth differentiation factor 9 (GDF9) in order to detect any possible mutations in these two genes in Bangladeshi Black Bengal goats. We identified six single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP), of which five (C735A, C743A, G754T, C781A, and C808G) in BMP15 exon 2 and one (T1173A) in GDF9 exon 2. We also studied their association with litter size. Association analysis results show that polymorphism at the 735, 754 and 781 nucleotide positions of BMP15 exon 2 had significant association with litter size in Black Bengal goat. The effect of parity was also highly significant (p <0.001) on litter size. This study explored, for the first time, SNP loci in fecundity genes in Bangladeshi prolific Black Bengal goats. Further studies with a high number of genetically unrelated animals for assessing the association of these loci and others in the fecundity genes with litter size may be useful.