A survey to determine the presence of the N-acetylglucosamine-6-sulfatase (G6S) gene mutation in Anglo-Nubian goats in southern Thailand

Abstract

Mutation of the G6S gene in Anglo-Nubian (AN) goat causes non-function of the N-acetylglucosamide 6- sulfatase enzyme within lysosomes, which increases heparin sulfate accumulation and induces pathogenesis of the internal organs. Transversion of base C to T at nucleotide 322 changes decoding of an amino arginine to a stop codon (R322X) and produces a truncated protein. This mutation is detrimental to the health of a goat kid leading to delay in nervous development and death. It was found first time in goats of a Michigan herd in the US, but has not yet been reported in Thailand. This study aimed to determine the incidence of the G6S gene in AN and crossbred AN goats in southern Thailand. DNA samples of 39 purebred AN goats and 82 crossbred AN x Thai Native (TN) goats from 3 research farms in Yala and Songkhla province were tested by RFLP and 5 DNA samples were subsequently sequenced. No instances of the mutation at nucleotide 322 were found, however, polymorphism of base C at nucleotide 354 was detected, which was different from a previous report which noted this polymorphism at base T. This would indicate that the goat line in Thailand differs from the G6S mutant line in USA. Moreover, the pressure of high growth rate selection after many generations and the cell and death of those with poor growth might have removed this homologous recessive gene entirely from tested goat population.