Detection of two nucleotide substitutions and putative promoters in the 5 flanking region of the ovine IGF-I gene

The objective of this study was to search for polymorphisms and gene regulatory sequences in the 5' flanking region of the sheep insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) gene. PCR-SSCP analysis of the 5' flanking region revealed three banding patterns. Family study indicated that these patterns in mixed breed sheep corresponded with three genotypes (with their frequencies in parentheses) A A (0.70), AB (0.25), and BB (0.05), which arose from a one-locus, two allele (A, B) polymorphism. Genotypie frequencies in 22 purebred Polypay sheep were AA (0.77) and AB (0.23). Calculated frequency of the A allele in Polypays was 0.89. No deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium was detected in this study. Fragments amplified using DNA from homozygous individuals were sequenced and aligned next to each other. A T to C transition and a G to C transversion were found at positions 179 and 181, respectively, of the amplified PCR product, resulting in recognition sites for Bsp143II and HaeI. Analysis of a fragment of 2,162 base pairs upstream of Exon 1, assembled from sheep ESTs and sequence of our amplified PCR products, revealed a promoter sequence approximately 100 bp downstream of the polymorphic sites. The assembled DNA fragment shared 70% sequence homology between sheep and human. These results suggest that sequence of the 5' flanking region of IGF-I gene and location of the IGF-I promoters are similar in human and sheep.