Evaluation of genetic diversity of Saudi native chicken populations using microsatellite markers.
The present study was conducted to evaluate the genetic diversity and relationships of 5 Saudi native chicken populations and a White Leghorn (L) strain as an exotic breed, using 25 microsatellite markers. According to morphological appearance and plumage color and pattern, they were classified into black (BL), black-barred (BR), dark brown (DB), light brown (LB), and gray (G) breeds. Twenty-five microsatellite markers were chosen based on the degree of polymorphism reported in the previous literature. The results revealed that all studied markers exhibited a varied percentage of polymorphism among native chicken populations. However, there were 81 polymorphic loci out of 109 loci. Based on cluster analysis, 3 main clusters of chicken populations were identified. Two clusters comprised native chicken breeds, while the L strain set the third one. Higher similarity was found between either black and gray populations (BL and G) or brown populations (LB and DB). They had a closer relationship to each other. Genetic distance between each couple was 0.11 and 0.12, respectively. The productive results revealed that the black breed had significantly (P < 0.0001) lighter body weight at sexual maturity compared to the other breeds. There was no significant difference between light and dark brown breeds for most productive traits. The genetic diversity we found among Saudi chicken populations may be of interest for improving productive performance and adaptability.
Department of Animal Production and Breeding, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Qassim University, Al-Qassim, 51452, Saudi Arabia.|Department of Poultry Production, Faculty of Agriculture, Ain Shams University, Hadayek Shoubra 11241, Cairo, Egypt.
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Fathi
Department of Animal Production and Breeding, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Qassim University, Al-Qassim, 51452, Saudi Arabia.
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Al-Homidan
Department of Plant Production and Protection, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Qassim University, Al-Qassim, 51452, Saudi Arabia.
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Motawei
Department of Animal Production and Breeding, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Qassim University, Al-Qassim, 51452, Saudi Arabia.|Department of Poultry Production, Faculty of Agriculture, Ain Shams University, Hadayek Shoubra 11241, Cairo, Egypt.
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Abou-Emera
Department of Animal Production and Breeding, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Qassim University, Al-Qassim, 51452, Saudi Arabia.|Department of Animal Production, Faculty of Agriculture, Suez Canal University, 41522, Ismailia, Egypt.
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El-Zarei
D000818:Animals; D002645:Chickens / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D014644:Genetic Variation; D008297:Male; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D012529:Saudi Arabia
Saudi native chicken; dendrogram; genetic diversity; microsatellites