Abstract

Diacylglycerol O–acyltransferase (DGAT2) with a molecular weight of 42kDa is a microsomal enzyme that catalyzes the final step of triglyceride synthesis, on milk yield and composition. This present study explained the genetic diversity of DGAT2 gene in selected ruminants, non-ruminants and poultry species. A total of Seventeen sequences of DGAT2 gene from nine species: Cattle (4), Sheep (2), Goat (3), Swine (2), Mouse (3), Rabbit (1), Chicken (1), Turkey (1) and Duck (1) were retrieved from the GenBank (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov). Neighbor-Joining Trees was constructed each using P-distance model and pair wise deletion gap/missing data treatment. The reliability of the trees was calculated by bootstrap confidence values, with 1000 bootstrap iterations using MEGA 6.0 Software. Dxy (0.00) between sheep and goat was smaller inferring their closer relationship in evolutionary trend than those of cattle. The maximum Dxy value (0.06) was observed between chicken and turkey while the minimum Dxy value (0.04) was also seen between chicken and duck and the divergence time displayed the earliest differentiation between them. The minimum Dxy (0.00) was observed between Mouse, Swine and Rabbit respectively. Sequences of DGAT2 genes of sheep and goat clustered closely than those of cattle. Mouse and Rabbit clustered closely than those of Swine whereas sequences of Chicken clustered closely with those of duck than turkey although, the sequences of the poultry species were closer to each other in the evolutionary trend. The clustering result of DGAT2 gene was consistent with the taxonomy in the NCBI. The results of these findings would provide an insight in the understanding of the genetics distance among and within species for selection purposes.