Genetic diversity and single nucleotide polymorphism of growth hormones receptor gene in different goats breeds

Abstract It is impossible to overstate the economic significance of an animal's weight, which is typically used to determine its economic worth. An investigation was carried out to identify genetic diversity and single nucleotide polymorphism of growth hormone receptor gene. We identified several SNPs; 14 were due to substitution, and 6 were due to deletion. The deletions were mainly Adenosine at different positions of the nucleotide base. Crossbred animals (West African Long-legged x Red Sokoto) were found to have the highest number of SNPs. Our literature review shows that some of the identified SNPs have an association with productive performance. The Phylogenetic tree of the goats GHR shows two clusters, with the first cluster having 88% ancestral identity and the second having 78% ancestral identity. Maradi, WAD, and Red Sokoto in the first clusters had the highest (88%) similarity. The genetic distances showed the closest distance (0.0000) to Maradi and Red Sokoto, Maradi and WAD, and WAD and Red Sokoto. It was also observed that the phylogenetic tree for goats and other species of animals in the universe was divided into three groups, each having a different ancestral identity. The closest were Homo sapiens and WLL (63%) and the least were Gallus gallus and Boer goat. The investigations, therefore, successfully identified economically important traits in goats, their phylogenetic relationship, and genetic distances. It is recommended that associations’ studies on economically imported traits be investigated for more markers for markers-assisted selection and thus better improvement in livestock productivity.