Further evidence for paternal inheritance of mitochondrial DNA in the sheep (Ovis aries)

• DOI: 10.1038/sj.hdy.6800516
• Publication Date: 2004-07-21T11:05:03Z
• Authors: X Zhao; N Li; W Guo; X Hu; Z Liu; G Gong; A Wang; J Feng; C Wu
• Keywords: Male; 0303 health sciences; Heredity; Sheep; Base Sequence; Genotype; Molecular Sequence Data; DNA, Mitochondrial; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Pedigree; Fathers; 03 medical and health sciences; Animals; Female; Inbreeding; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; DNA Primers; Microsatellite Repeats

The mitochondrial DNA of 172 sheep from 48 families were typed by using PCR-RFLP, direct amplification of the repeated sequence domain and sequencing analysis. The mitochondrial DNA from three lambs in two half-sib families were found to show paternal inheritance. Our findings provide direct evidence of paternal inheritance of mitochondria DNA in sheep. A total of 12 highly polymorphic microsatellite markers, which mapped on different chromosomes, were employed to type the sheep population to confirm family relationships. Possible mechanisms of paternal inheritance are discussed.