A STUDY ON THE ASSOCIATION OF GENOTYPES AT THE INTERFERON GAMMA MICROSATELLITE LOCUS WITH FAECAL STRONGYLE EGG COUNTS IN SHEEP

摘要

The effect of genotypes at a microsatellite locus in the interferon gamma (IFNG) gene on faecal strongyle egg counts was studied in 148 ewes belonging to two different flocks undergoing selection for insulin like growth factor-1 (IGF-1, comprised of divergent lines and control) and fleece weight (FW, comprised of high line and control), respectively. Faecal egg counts (FEC), expressed as egg counts per gram of wet faeces, averaged 783 in the IGF-1 flock and 86 in the FW flock. While FEC varied significantly (p<0.05) between lines in both the flocks, IFNG genotypic proportions varied significantly (p<0.01) between lines only in the IGF-1 flock. However, the effect of the IFNG genotypes on FEC was non-significant in either of the flocks.