In this study, the maternal genetic diversity, phylogenetic relationship and effect of natural selection on indigenous chickens from Nigeria were assessed. A total of 397-bp fragment of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) D-loop region of 171 indigenous chickens from four populations of Nigeria and four commercial egg line strains (two Anak titan, one Giriraja and one Yaffa) as out-groups were analysed. Thirty-one haplotypes (28 from Nigerian chickens and three from commercial strains) and 34 polymorphic sites were identified. The mean haplotypic and nucleotide diversity were found to be 0.39 ± 0.05 and 0.02 ± 0.02, respectively. Majority of Nigerian chicken haplotypes observed were grouped into haplogroup D which originated from Indian subcontinent, suggesting a single maternal lineage. Genetic variation within and between populations accounted for 97.30 and 2.70% of the total genetic variation, respectively, which is in agreement with a recent and maternal founding effect. High number (4) of negatively selected sites observed based on single likelihood ancestral counting (SLAC) model indicated that the sampled Nigerian chicken populations were undergoing purifying selection. This study concluded that there was relatively high genetic diversity and differentiation, thus, this information will probably paveway for further evaluation studies, preservation and improvement of Nigerian chickens as genetic resources towards ensuring food security.
A total of 150 pure strain broiler chicks comprising 50 each of Arbor Acre, Marshall and Ross were used for this experiment which lasted 10 weeks at the Poultry Breeding Unit of the Directorate of University Farms (DUFARMS) of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Ogun State Nigeria. The experiment was carried out to make comparative analyses of growth response and genetic parameter estimates of some quantitative traits (Body weight and linear body measurement) in Arbor Acre, Marshall and Ross broiler chicken strains in South-West, Nigeria. Growth performance data was collected from week 3 to week 10 and analysed using the Generalized Linear Model. Marshall broiler chicken strain had the highest growth rate and better growth performance followed by Ross and Arbor Acre in terms of body weight and linear body dimensions. Marshall and Ross attained mean weight of 1964.50±43.10 g and 1913.02±41.05 g, respectively, which were superior (p < 0.05) to Arbor Acre 1831.63±36.28 g at 10 weeks of age. Marshall Broiler chicken strain also had the highest estimates of heritability for body weight 0.46±0.04, followed by Arbor Acre and Ross with estimates of heritability of 0.38±0.12 and 0.26±0.06, respectively. However considering the linear body measurements, none of the broiler chicken strains maintained high estimates of heritability from 3rd to 10th week.
There are three main breeds of goat in Nigeria: The West African Dwarf (WAD), the Red Sokoto and the Sahel. Goats are renowned for their hardiness and can survive in most environments. The goats sampling was carried out from farms and markets across different states in Nigeria, according to the geographical distribution of the breeds published by Blench (1999). This experiment was carried out to analyse morphological variability among Nigerian goats. A total of 318 goats spread across the three Nigerian breeds were used in the following populations (57 Sahel, 187 Red Sokoto and 137 West African Dwarf). Data were collected on body weight, linear body measurements and heat tolerance traits and were subjected to analysis of variance using the fixed effects of breed, sex and location. Results showed that breed, sex and location significantly (P<0.05) affected all the linear body measurements and heat tolerance traits. The Sahel breed had the highest values in most of the measured traits compared to the West African Dwarf and the Red Sokoto breeds of goat. It was observed that goats from the northern part of Nigeria were heavier than their southern counterparts, and this can be likened to their genetic makeup and the extent of its interaction with the environment. The results of the study confirmed the population structure of Nigerian goat breeds and showed that they possess enough diversity to enhance genetic improvement for higher survival and productivity.
This study was conducted to identify ghrelin (GHRL) gene polymorphism within exons 2 and 3 in three chicken breeds and to determine its association with growth and linear body measurements. Three hundred one-day-old chicks comprising 100 each of three chicken breeds (FUNAAB Alpha, Noiler and Shika Brown) were used for the research and were raised for eighteen weeks. Fifty birds per breed were sampled for blood collection and Genomic DNA was extracted using Zymo miniprep kit. DNA was amplified and PCR products digested with Eco72I restriction enzyme. Growth data were analysed using Generalized Linear Model of SAS. Noiler had the highest (P <0.05) growth traits from 10 to 18 weeks among studied breeds. GHRL gene polymorphism had no significant (P >0.05) effect on growth traits. However, interaction between GHRL gene polymorphism and chicken breeds revealed that Noiler chickens AA and AB had the best (P <0.05) productive performance from 2 to 18 weeks.
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