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Characterization of Indigenous Fat-tailed Sheeps in Iran: Diversity in Blood Proteins
Sheep are an important source of meat in Iran. However, there are different sheep types raised in different agro-ecological zones and their genetic status is unknown. This paper reports the variation in three blood proteins from three populations of sheep found in Iran .Blood samples were collected from a total 816 sheep of both sexes in three Iranian fat-tailed breeds (Sangsari, Makoei, indigenous sheep on firoozkouh mountain) serum, plasma and erythrocyte were separated and were frozen at -20°C. Variation in their blood proteins, albumin, haemoglobin and transferrin were examined to characterize the breeds and to obtain genetic relationship among them. Only transferrin was polymorphic in all breeds investigated; while albumin was monomorphic for S allele and haemoglobin was fixed for the B allele in three breeds.
Keywords: sheep, fat-tailed, albumin, transferrin, haemoglobin
