Allelic diversity of DQA2 exon 2 gene in Egyptian goat populations

The study aimed to assess the genetic diversity of 2-decyl-4-quinazolinyl amine exon2 (DQA2 exon2) gene among the Egyptian goat populations from different agro-climatic areas. Data of diseases distribution as well as blood samples were collected. The data collected for diseases distribution showed differences in the types of diseases between the agro-climatic areas. The Single Strand Conformation Polymorphism technique (SSCP) was used to assess the genetic diversity of DQA2 exon2 gene among the goat populations. The results showed that the DQA2 exon2 gene locus displayed 21 alleles with different frequencies in each of goat population. The gene diversity values among the populations ranged from 0.950± 0.022 to 0.887± 0.033. The difference between the most southern population (Aswan) and the remaining populations translate to significant (P< 0.05) differentiation for only one population pair (Aswan-Baladi, with FST= 0.055; P= 0.001). Scrutiny of allele composition in these two goat populations showed unique alleles in each population (six in Aswan and four in Baladi). The results of the study suggested that the allelic numbers and allelic composition for the DQA2 exon2 gene among the Egyptian goat populations showed diversity in the immune gene due to the different pathogens exposure.