Evaluation of genetic diversity and conservation priorities for Egyptian chickens

Sherif Ramadan, Boniface B. Kayang, Eiji Inoue, Keijiro Nirasawa, Hiroshi Hayakawa, Shin’ichi Ito, Miho Inoue-Murayama

Animal Breeding and Reproduction Research Team, National Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science, Tsukuba, Japan.
Department of Animal Science, College of Agriculture and Consumer Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana.
Faculty of Applied Biological Sciences, Gifu University, Gifu, Japan.
Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
Poultry Research Department, Gifu Prefectural Livestock Research Institute, Seki, Japan.
Wildlife Research Center of Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.

DOI: 10.4236/ojas.2012.23025                

Abstract

In this study, 21 microsatellite markers were used to genotype 196 Egyptian local chickens obtained from Fayoumi (n = 35), Dandarawy (n = 30), Baladi (n = 29), Sinai (n = 30), El-Salam (n = 36), and Golden Montazah (n = 36) strains. The results were compared to two pure commercial chicken populations reared in Japan-White Leghorn (n = 42) and Rhode Island Red (n = 43). A total of 162 alleles were observed, with an average of 7.7 alleles per locus. The average expected heterozygosity for the Egyptian chickens was 0.595. The closest pairwise Nei’s genetic distance was recorded between Sinai and Golden Montazah (0.038) and the smallest pairwise FST value (0.006) was observed between Baladi and Sinai. The most probable structure clustering of the eight studied populations was at K = 6. Baladi, Sinai and Golden Montazah strains were clustered together forming admixed mosaic cluster. Dandarawy ranked firstly and contributed the most to aggregate genetic diversity based on two prioritization methods. The information resulting from this study may be used as an initial guide to design further investigations for development of sustainable genetic improvement and conservation programs for the Egyptian chicken genetic resources.

Keywords

Conservation; Egyptian Chickens;Genetic Diversity; Microsatellite; Population Structure

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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