The Markhoz is a local goat breed in the Kurdistan region of Iran. The
mohair obtained from these animals plays an important cultural role and is
used for making local clothes in the Kurdistan region. This breed is a low-fecundity local goat, and searching for genes associated with fertility of these
goats is important for their breeding. Moreover, this research is
complementary to prior studies of candidate genes associated with fertility.
The growth differentiation factor 9 (GDF9) and bone morphogenetic protein 15
(BMP15) are attractive candidates expressed by the oocyte and are associated
with increased ovulation rate in sheep. However, there are no reports on
single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with fertility of Markhoz goats.
Hence, we studied these candidate genes and found two novel mutations
(g.233C>A and g.755T>G) in GDF9 exon I and in BMP15
exon II, respectively. Furthermore, we investigated their association with
prolificacy. These nucleotide changes are detectable with the PCR-RFLP
method and can be used in the screening for highly fecund goats. Both of the
mutations significantly increased litter size in heterozygote form for BMP15
and homozygote form for GDF9 in this goat breed. Homozygote females for the
BMP15 mutation were not identified in the Markhoz breed, which is similar to
the situation found in Belclare sheep, small-tailed Han sheep, and Jining Grey
goats.