Tarbiat Modares University Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology 1680-7073 14 3 2012 05 01 Allelic Polymorphism of Makoei Sheep Calpastatin Gene Identified by Polymerase Chain Reaction and Single Strand Conformation Polymorphism 533 538 15098 EN M. Ranjbari Institute for Biotechnology, Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Urmia University, Urmia, Islamic Republic of Iran. A. Hashemi Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Urmia University, Urmia, West Azerbaijan, Islamic Republic of Iran. K. Mardani Department of Food Hygiene and Quality Control, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Urmia University, Urmia, Islamic Republic of Iran. R. Darvishzadeh Department of Plant Breeding, Faculty of Agriculture, Urmia University, Urmia, Islamic Republic of Iran. Journal Article Calpastatin (CAST) is a specific inhibiter of calpains, playing a role in meat tenderization and myogenesis. In the present study, the polymorphism of the CAST gene of Makoei sheep was investigated by polymerase chain reaction and single strand conformation polymorphism technique (PCR–SSCP). Genomic DNA was extracted from whole blood samples collected from 100 sheep. A 622 bp CAST exon 1 segment was amplified by standard PCR, using the locus specific primers. PCR products were subjected to a non-denaturing gel electrophoresis. Four SSCP patterns, representing four different genotypes, were identified. The frequencies of the observed genotypes were 0.31, 0.04, 0.63 and 0.02 for AA, BB AB and AC, respectively. Allele frequencies were 0.6313, 0.3586 and 0.01 for A, B and C, respectively. The Observed heterozygosity (Hobs) value for CAST gene was 0.4728. The chi-square test showed significant (P< 0.01) deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium for this locus in Makoei sheep population. https://jast.modares.ac.ir/article_15098_a3782ef3356e45ba3e6fa056fd2a8ce4.pdf