POLYMORPHISAM OF MICROSATELLITE LOCI IN MHC COMPLEX
FOR AN ALBANIAN GOAT BREED
Anila Hoda, Lumturi Papa, Ylli Biçoku
Department of Animal Production, Agricultural University of Tirana (AUT), Albania
hodanila@yahoo.com
The Мajor Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) plays a key role in immune response. Our study aimed at the polymorphism analysis in two microsatellite loci in the class I and II of the MHC complex for a local goat breed in Albania. The domestic goat is one of the most important livestock species in the mountainous area of Albania. Goat breeds are defined mainly by the geographic position, morphological characteristics and production performance. They are well adapted to harsh climate, diseases, poor nutrition, and extensive farming conditions. The study was car¬ried out in 60 unrelated individuals from different villages of North Albania. Both markers were highly polymorphic. The analysis revealed a great number of alleles, 11 and 37 per class I and II, respectively. The level of heterozygosity was very high such as 86% for class I and 71% for class II. The high level of polymorphism and heterozygosity is ex¬plained by the fact that the molecules encoded by the MHC complex take part in the immune response, as well as with the overdominant selection which acts on the antigen recognition site. PIC values were higher than 0.5. These indicated that both loci can be used as genetic markers.
Keywords: MHC complex; microsatellite marker; goat; polymorphism; selection
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