LAUSR

The objective of this study was to detect bitter taste receptor (T2Rs) variants in three breeds of goats. The ability to taste bitter taste impacts feed intake, digestion, and rejection of potentially toxic substances. Blood was collected from three breeds of goats (Spanish, Savannah, and Boer n = 5 /breed). Genomic DNA was extracted. The concentration and purity of DNA was determined using the Nanodrop spectrophotometer. Primers specific for seven T2R gene variants (T2R3, T2R4, T2R10, T2R12, T2R13, T2R16, and T2R67) were used to detect the goat T2R gene based on average threshold cycle. DNA products were commercially sequenced (Eurofins Genomics). The sequenced products were used in BLAST against the Capra hircus redundant nucleotide database. All seven taste gene variants were detected in the Savannah breed, In Spanish goats T2R4 and T213 were not detected, In Boer goats only T2R3, T2R16 and T2R13 were detected. Polymorphisms in T2R impact dietary preference, innate immunity and health. Thus, studies are needed to ascertain the possible functional significance of this variation using a larger sample size