Polymorphism of exon 2 and 3 of growth hormone gene and presence of a rare genotype in native goat breed of Kerala, India

Goats form an important livestock species in India, and is the only species showing an upward population trend in Kerala, the southernmost state of India. Reported polymorphism at 781A > G of Growth Hormone gene (GH) was screened. A total of 343 goats of two native breeds of Kerala namely, Malabari and Attappady Black, along with Malabari crossbreds formed the material for study. Restriction digestion with enzyme HaeIII resulted in three genotypes AA, AB and BB. Frequency for genotype AB was high for all populations, indicating its selective advantage, but an association between genotypes and growth traits could not be established. The BB genotype had a low frequency of 0.02 and appeared to be a rare genotype, which do not seem to be reported in other similar studies with GH gene. This genotype was seen mostly in Attappady Black goat population which comes under 'insecure' category of conservation and hence cannot afford to undergo strict selection measures, which might be the reason for the presence of this rare genotype.