The canine melanophilin gene polymorphisms in Slovakian Rough-haired Pointer

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the population genotypic structure based on polymorphisms located in exon 1 (c.-22G>A) and exon 7 (R199H) of canine gene encoding melanophilin (MLPH). The genomic DNA were obtained from in total 49 samples of Slovakian Rough-haired Pointer and analysed using PCR-RFLP methods. The prevalence of G allele has been found in case of both identified loci. The highest frequency has been observed for heterozygous animals and its sufficient proportion was confirmed also by the coefficient of heterozygosity (0.71 or 0.67) and the F_IS index values (-0.45 or -0.47). The F_ST index showed expected high degree of genetic similarity between analysed populations resulted from their breeding purposes and common founders. The genotyping of such polymorphisms can be perspective mainly due to the fact that the MLPH gene was associated with the coat colour dilution and also alopecia not only in human but as well as in dog populations.