Mutations in the genes for oocyte-derived growth factors GDF9 and BMP15 are associated with both increased ovulation rate and sterility in Cambridge and Belclare sheep (Ovis aries).

Abstract excerpt

Belclare and Cambridge are prolific sheep breeds, the origins of which involved selecting ewes with exceptionally high litter size records from commercial flocks. The variation in ovulation rate in both breeds is consistent with segregation of a gene (or genes) with a large effect on this trait. Sterile ewes, due to a failure of normal ovarian follicle development, occur in both breeds. New naturally occurring...

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