KiSS-1 gene encodes a protein product kisspeptin which are intense inducers
of luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) secretion
in various mammalian species through its receptor GPR54 (G protein-coupled
receptor-54). A total of 100 goat compromising of Red Sokoto (n = 72) and
Sahel (n = 28) breeds were used to detect single nucleotide polymorphisms
(SNPs) in the intronic region of the KiSS-1 gene by sequencing and
investigate their relationship with other goat breeds. Nucleotide sequence
analysis revealed five novel SNPs (g.1745G>A present in Red Sokoto,
g.1776G>A, g.1827A>G, g.1857T>C and g.2208T>C present in Red Sokoto and
Sahel breeds). To obtain a correct phylogenetic relationship between goat
breeds, nucleotide sequences were compared to other sequences in NCBI
database using a BLASTn algorithm and retrieved for further analysis.
Neighbour-joining phylogenetic relationship tree constructed revealed two
distinct clusters with ancestral lineage of 100% identity. Nigerian goat
breeds (Red Sokoto and Sahel) clustered into a clade with Indian goat breeds
(Ganjam and Osmanabadi) while the second cluster involved eight other goat
breeds. Genetic distance estimate revealed high genetic similarity between
Red Sokoto and Sahel breeds as observed in their genetic distance value of
0.003. The nucleotide sequences of the two Nigerian goat breeds (Red Sokoto
and Sahel) for KiSS-1 gene were submitted to GenBank database and have
accession numbers: MN122316 and MN122317, respectively. The analysis of
polymorphism in KiSS-1 gene indicates that genetic variation exists in the
goat breeds studied. Therefore, attempts can be made to investigate the
association of these polymorphism with reproductive traits in Nigerian goat
breeds.