Study of Bax Gene Expression Relationship for Two Different Periods with Follicles Size in Local Iraqi Sheep

Abstract

This research was conducted at Al-Mussaib Technical College/Department of Animal production techniques /Physiology Laboratory in cooperation with Jisser Al-Mussaib Company for Biological research which located in Baghdad / Karrada Dakhla to study and evaluate Bax gene expression and measure the size of the follicles in the ovaries of the Iraqi local sheep. In this study, (50) female genital organs of sheep were collected from Karbala and Najaf butchery for two periods of time: the first period (August 2021) and the second period (January, 2022). Follicle sizes were measured and divided into three categories (<3 mm, 3-5 mm, and >5mm) and a biopsy of tissue was taken from the surface of the ovary for the purpose of Bax gene expression measurement. The obtained results showed a lower relative expression in the first period in comparison with the second period. While for the size of the follicles, the gene expression was the highest in the first category (<3 mm) and then It was followed by the second category (3-5mm) and finally the third category( >5mm).This study clearly indicate an increase in the gene expression of the programmed death gene (Bax gene) during the period of decline in reproductive activity represented by cold days (January) compared to a decrease in gene expression in August, which is a period of reproductive activity, and the reason behind that is the increasing in the activity of reproductive hormones which inversely act with the programmed death genes. As for the size of the follicles, it seems that the increased activity of programmed death genes in the developing small follicles may have come as a result of the increase in errors in the cell divisions of the developing cells as a way to get rid of the abnormal cells.