MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION OF CYTOCHROME P450 AROMATASE (CYP19) GENE IN EGYPTIAN RIVER BUFFALOES

Cytochrome P450 aromatase (CYP19) gene catalyzes the last step in the steroidogenesis which convert the androgens to estrogens. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the polymorphism in CYP19 gene and its potential effects in female buffaloes fertility. The DNA was extracted from the blood samples of 81 Egyptian river buffalo females and a 419 bp fragment contained a part of CYP19- distal promoter P1.1 was amplified by PCR which subsequently treated with PvuII restriction enzyme. The PCR-RFLP pattern showed that all the animals had a fixed GG genotype and A allele was not detected. Sequencing of the amplified fragment (GenBank accession No. MF490278 and MF490279) followed by sequence alignment with the GenBank database revealed that the homology among the Egyptian river buffalo target sequence and its orthologues sequences in cattle, sheep and goat was 97, 95 and 93%, respectively. G to A transition SNP (G197A) was detected among individuals representing the Egyptian river buffalo by sequencing. G allele was detected only in the Egyptian buffalo and not in the other buffalo records in the GenBank. Seventeen transcription factor binding sites (TFBSs) span along the sequence were predicted.