Identification of Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) in 5'-UTR of CYP11B1 Gene in Sahiwal and Tharparkar Cattle Breeds of Pakistan

One of the major goals of animal genetics is to understand the role of common genetic variants in disease susceptibility as well as in production traits. Sahiwal and Tharparkar cattle could be considered as global animal genetic resources as the two breeds are best in Pakistan due to high milk-producing ability, resistance against tropical diseases, and heat tolerance. The CYP11B1 gene codes for a mitochondrial enzyme is known as steroid 11-beta-hydroxylase. In cattle, it catalyzes the conversion of 11-deoxycortisol to cortisol and 11-deoxycorticosterone to corticosterone. The present study was aimed to identify the single-nucleotide polymorphisms in CYP11B1 gene in Sahiwal and Tharparkar cattle breeds of Pakistan. We collected 27 Sahiwal breed samples from RCC Jhang and 49 Tharparkar cattle samples from Government livestock farms Umerkot (Location 1).Sequence analysis of CYP11B1 gene’s exon 1 has shown total 22 polymorphic sites in both breeds14 SNPs were found in Tharparkar cattle and 8 in Sahiwal cattle. Moreover 7 non-synonymous mutations were in Tharparkar breed 5 were identified in Sahiwal breed. In this study SNP based phylogenetic tree of Tharparkar and Sahiwal cattle was constructed, and the results have shown promising findings Tharparkar cattle from Bos taurus as well as Sahiwal cattle breed. Sequences of Tharparkar cattle have also shown divergence within breed as the sequences have formed 3 different clades at different positions. This polymorphism study could be an effective genetic tool for the development of trait-specific DNA markers for Pakistani cattle breeds, and therefore help the animal breeders and scientist to identify domestic livestock diversity that allows different livestock species to adapt to future environmental changes and avoid inbreeding