Interaction between stearoyl-coenzyme A desaturase polymorphism and feeding system in affecting the fatty acid profile of sheep cheese

Stearoyl-coenzyme A desaturase (SCD) catalyses the synthesis of monounsaturated fatty acids, by introducing a cis double bond at the delta 9–10 position. The study investigated the effects of a polymorphism at the ovine SCD gene and its interaction with the inclusion of fresh forage in the diet on cheese fatty acid (FA) composition in Valle del Belice ewes. A region of 527 bp of the ovine SCD gene including the partial sequence of the promoter, the complete sequence of the 5’ UTR and exon 1 and the partial sequence of intron 1 were analyzed in order to identify the g.87C > A SNP located in the promoter region. A feeding trial was carried out using 16 Valle del Belice ewes selected on the…