Genetic diversity among local chicken breeds egypt, using microsatellite dna markers

Microsatellite markers offer great potential for genetic comparisons within and between populations. In order to assess and characterize genetic diversity of Egyptian native chickens, DNA profiles of selected samples of Egyptian chickens were performed in three repetitions, in which the complete coincidence of microsatellite profiles from each specific individual was shown. The resulting individual matrix served as the basis for the characterization of Egyptian chicken breeds. It was established that the average number of alleles per 11 mc in the studied breeds of Egyptian chickens is 5.64 alleles per locus or a total of 62 alleles for all loci. The maximum allelic diversity was found in the breed of the baladi, the minimum in the gimmizah breed, 3.82 ± 0.30 and 1.91 ± 0.25, respectively. The anshas breed was characterized by an intermediate number of alleles equal to 2.36 ± 0.24 alleles per locus. An excess of heterozygotes was found in the breed of baladi at the level of 12.8%. Breeds of gimmizah and anshas were characterized by a deficit of 8.6 and 10.6%, respectively. The deficit of heterozygotes is also indicated by positive values of the fixation index (fis) in the gimmizah and anshas breeds, 30.7 and 25.1%, respectively. Thus this penal of microsatellites markers provide good insight into the genetic diversity available across Egypt chickens of either close or distant genetic backgrounds. The resulting information can be used in dealing with the conservation and sustainable use of genetic resources of the local chicken breeds Egypt. © 2019 Norezzine Abdelaziz et al.