Characterisation of immunological and genetic structures blood in different ruminant species

The homology of blood groups used for breed certification has been studied in 8 species of ruminants: sheep, goats, cattle, yak, camel, saiga, musk ox and moose. The similarity of anti-J antibodies of cattle and yak with anti-R antibodies of sheep and goats was found. The genetic structure of the R(J) system in goats, cattle and yak is the same, it consists of two antigens and alleles and 3 genotypes. In sheep the R system is genetically more complex. In Romanov sheep, the Ii allele is frequent. The presence of Ii/i genotype causes epistasis (suppression) of manifestation of R and O alleles and antigens. This phenomenon is associated with the closedness of the breed. We believe that Ii/i genotype serves as a peculiar signalling marker of inbreeding increase in herds. In goats, 10 of the 17 sheep diagnostics can be used, revealing antigens of the A, B, C, M, R loci. The goat breed validation kit includes 12 bovine, 6 sheep, and 8 goat microsatellite loci with their location on chromosomes in a particular animal species. In only 4 loci it is not known on the chromosome of which species they are located. In sheep, 28 of the 30 loci recommended by FAO/ISAG are located on sheep chromosomes and only 2 on goat chromosomes. The loci for elk, taken from cattle due to the commonality of DNA sites, they are suitable for population characterisation, assessment of the reliability of the origin of offspring. The study of mtDNA of 48 sheep breeds from Eurasia showed the presence of 4 haplotypes (A, B, C and D) in the Caucasus, 3 in Central Asia (A, B, C) and 2 in Eastern Europe (A, B). It has been established that a multicausal factor underlies multiple fertility in Romanov sheep. On the basis of the obtained results, the classification of mutations causing multiple fertility in sheep is proposed.