Molecular Study of Myostatin Gene in Stallion and Mares of Sandelwood Horses in Sumba Island, East Nusa Tenggara

Abstract

Sandelwood horse is one of local horses in Indonesia that has become known for its use in horse racing competition. Many genes are known to have an effect on performances traits, but the role of one gene, Myostatin (MSTN) has not been explored yet. This gene is responsible for embryonic and adult muscle development. Due to the rare information about this gene characteristic, this study aimed to identify myostatin (MSTN) gene in Sandelwood horse in both male and female horses. The blood sample from five stallions and five mares which reared half wildly in Sumba Island were collected and analyzed. The method used in this research was polymerase chain reaction (PCR), electrophoresis and DNA Sequencing. Myostatin gene was successfully amplified with a temperature 60 0 c for 463 bp. A total of 10 samples have been sequenced in PCR machine. The MSTN gene forward primer was 5'-TATTCTTCTTGGGAGGGAGGACTACT-3' and reverse primer was 5'-GCAAGTAATTAGCACAAAAATTTGAATG-3'. The software Basic Alignment Local Search Tool (BLAST) was used to sequence and to analyses the samples. The results showed that the MSTN gene in local Sandelwood horse in both stallion and mare horses have similarities with Anglo Arabian horse according to the existing data in GenBank.