Study of polymorphisms in the promoter region of ovine β-lactoglobulin gene and phylogenetic analysis among the Valle del Belice breed and other sheep breeds considered as ancestors

The aim of this work was to sequence the promoter region of b-lactoglobulin (BLG) gene in four sheep breeds, in order to identify polymorphisms, infer and analyze haplotypes, and phylogenetic relationship among the Valle del Belice breed and the other three breeds considered as ancestors. Sequencing analysis and alignment of the obtained sequences showed the presence of 36 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and one deletion. A total of 22 haplotypes found in ‘‘best’’ reconstruction were inferred considering the 37 polymorphic sites identified. Haplotypes were used for the reconstruction of a phylogenetic tree using the Neighbor-Joining algorithm. The number of polymorphisms identified showed high variability within breeds. Analysis of genetic diversity indexes showed that the Sarda breed presented the lowest nucleotide diversity, whereas the Comisana breed presented the highest one. Comparing the nucleotide diversity among breeds, the highest value was obtained between Valle del Belice and Pinzirita breeds, whereas the lowest one was between Valle del Belice and Sarda breeds. Considering that polymorphisms in the promoter region of BLG gene could have a functional role associated with milk composition, the lowest value of nucleotide diversity between Valle del Belice and Sarda breeds may be related to a higher similarity of milk composition of these two breeds compared to the others. Further analyses will be conducted in order to evaluate the possible correlation between the genetic diversity indexes and the BLG content in milk of our breeds.