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The aim of this study was to determine the genetic diversity of 4 native Turkish cattle breeds, based on the growth hormone (GH), prolactin (PRL), and diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT1) genes. In order to study the polymorphisms in these genes, the polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method was performed. A 329-bp fragment and a 223-bp fragment of GH, a 156-bp fragment of PRL, and a 411-bp fragment of DGAT1, thus 4 loci of 3 genes, were amplified via PCR. These fragments were then restricted with the enzymes MspI, Alu1, RsaI, and CfrI, respectively. In this study, 2 types of alleles, ( + ) and ( - ) for the GH-MspI, L and V for the GH-Alu1, A and B for the PRL, and K and A for the DGAT1 loci, were observed. The results of the present study will contribute to the polymorphism data on the world's cattle breeds. Furthermore, the above-mentioned allele frequencies of Turkish native breeds are evaluated in relation to their genetic relatedness, and to infer their milk production properties on the basis of the available literature. In turn, these results can be utilized for future breeding programs of dairy cattle in Turkey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, to contribute to the understanding of the evolutionary history of sheep, the mitochondrial (mt) DNA polymorphisms occurring in modern Turkish native domestic (n = 628), modern wild (Ovis gmelinii anatolica) (n = 30) and ancient domestic sheep from Oylum Höyük in Kilis (n = 33) were examined comparatively with the accumulated data in the literature. The lengths (75 bp/76 bp) of the second and subsequent repeat units of the mtDNA control region (CR) sequences differentiated the five haplogroups (HPGs) observed in the domestic sheep into two genetic clusters as was already implied by other mtDNA markers: the first cluster being composed of HPGs A, B, D and the second cluster harboring HPGs C, E. To manifest genetic relatedness between wild Ovis gmelinii and domestic sheep haplogroups, their partial cytochrome B sequences were examined together on a median-joining network. The two parallel but wider aforementioned clusters were observed also on the network of Ovis gmelenii individuals, within which domestic haplogroups were embedded. The Ovis gmelinii wilds of the present day appeared to be distributed on two partially overlapping geographic areas parallel to the genetic clusters that they belong to (the first cluster being in the western part of the overall distribution). Thus, the analyses suggested that the domestic sheep may be the products of two maternally distinct ancestral Ovis gmelinii populations. Furthermore, Ovis gmelinii anatolica individuals exhibited a haplotype of HPG A (n = 22) and another haplotype (n = 8) from the second cluster which was not observed among the modern domestic sheep. HPG E, with the newly observed members (n = 11), showed signs of expansion. Studies of ancient and modern mtDNA suggest that HPG C frequency increased in the Southeast Anatolia from 6% to 22% some time after the beginning of the Hellenistic period, 500 years Before Common Era (BCE). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]