A comparison between the β-globin gene clusters of domestic sheep (Ovis aries) and Sardinian mouflon (Ovis gmelini musimon)

Abstract

The organization of the β-globin gene cluster of wild Sardinian mouflons with different haemoglobin phenotypes has been analyzed by means of Southern blot with probes specific for εIV- and βF- globin genes. With three endonucleases (Bam HI, Eco RI, and Hind III), Sardinian mouflons with Hb B, Hb BM and Hb M show identical restriction patterns to sheep with Hb A, Hb AB, and Hb B, respectively. Therefore, in Sardinian mouflons as in domestic sheep, the β-globin gene cluster shows two haplotypes characterized by the triplication or duplication of an ancestral four gene set (ε-ε-φβ-β).