THE USE OF GENOTYPING TO SELECT DESIRED-TYPE ANIMALS

Modern sheep breeding should be based on the production of high quality sheep products. Knowing the limits of animal productivity potential allows to manage the breeding process in the most effective way. Applying PCR-RFLP method makes it possible to identify allelic variants of genes associated with quantitative and qualitative characteristics of animals. By identifying different polymorphic variations and their phenotypic manifestations, one can create and replenish a database for managing the genetic progression of breeding-significant traits. The paper determines the gene polymorphism of growth hormone (GH), calpastatin (CAST) and growth differentiation factor (GDF9) of experimental animals and reflects an associative connection between the dynamics of growth and that of development of crossbred one-shear sheep of different origin (Russian meat merino ewes and imported producers). The article concludes that in order to increase sheep meat productivity, farms should give preference to animals carrying genes with the identified desired genotype on the studied polymorphisms and take into account their presence in the breeding process.