Genetic characterization of 11 microsatellite loci in Egyptian pigeons (Columba livia domestica) and their cross-species amplification in other Columbidae populations

Abstract

AimThis study aimed to analyze the genetic diversity and relationships of 10 Egyptian pigeon populations belonging to Columba livia domestica speciesusing 11 microsatellite markers and to investigate the success of these markers amplification across another eight pigeon species.MethodsGenomic DNA was isolated from feather samples of179 pigeon samples from 10 Egyptian breeds: Asfer Weraq (n=14), Austoraly (n=20), Reehani (n=21), Messawed (n=17), Nemssawy (n=27), Otatti (n=12), Morasla (n=17), Tumbler (n=22), Halaby Asfer (n=10), and Karakandy (n=19) in addition to Japanese feral pigeons (n=30). Genotyping was done using 11 specific polymorphic microsatellite makers. Moreover, 37 samples not belonging to C. livia domestica but belonging to another eight pigeon species were genotyped. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products were electrophoresed on an ABI 3130xl DNA Sequencer. The basic measures of genetic diversity and phylogenetic trees were computed using bioinformatics software.ResultsAcross the 10 studied Egyptian populations, the number of alleles per locus ranged from 3 to 19 and the average number of alleles observed was 9.091. The lowest value of expected heterozygosity (0.373) was obtained for the Reehani breed, and the highest value (0.706) was found for Morasla breed. The overall expected heterozygosity of Egyptian pigeons was 0.548. The FST coefficient which indicates fixation coefficients of subpopulations within the total population for the 11 loci varied from 0.318 to 0.114 with a relatively high mean (0.226). In our study, the FIS showed a relatively high average(0.037). The pairwise Reynolds’s genetic distance between the11 studied pigeon populations recorded lower values between Otatti and Austoraly (0.025) and between Morasla and Japanese feral pigeons (0.054). These results are supported by clustering pattern either by the neighbor-joining phylogenetic tree or by a Bayesian clustering of STRUCTURE with the admixture method.ConclusionsWe confirm the applicability of the CliµD17, CliµT17, CliµD16, CliµD32, CliµT13, CliµD01, PG1, PG2, PG4, PG6, and PG7 microsatellite markers among Egyptian domestic pigeons and across other pigeon species using cross-species amplification method. The information from this study should be useful for genetic characterization and for developing conservation programs of this important species.

Genetic Structure of Racing Pigeons (Columba livia) Kept in Poland Based on Microsatellite Markers

“…This can be explained by the so-called founder effect, where the genetic pool narrows down and grows over time, but only based on the pool founding. Egyptian pigeons [2,34] had significantly lower levels of inbreeding coefficients (F) than ours. The average coefficient of inbreeding estimated by us at the level of 0.088 was also much lower than that of most meat pigeons that are artificially selected for breeding pairs [30].…”

The Genetic Diversity and Structure of the European Turtle Dove Streptopelia turtur

“…Examination of population genetics in Columbidae species is mainly based on microsatellite markers and maternal mtDNA sequence analysis. Microsatellite markers have been used to determine the genetic diversity, gene flow, and relationships between different populations or lineages [ 11 , 13 , 29 , 30 ], while mtDNA has been applied for the analysis of genetic variability, genetic structure, and phylogeography of different Columbidae species [ 15 , 31 ]. For population genetic analysis of Columbidae species, different regions of mtDNA, the noncoding D-loop, cytb , and cytochrome oxidase I ( COI ) were used [ 7 , 15 , 17 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 ].…”

“…Previous genetic studies of the Columbidae family of birds primarily focused on phylogeny reconstruction [ 8 , 9 , 10 ]. Also, intraspecific genetic variation of the Feral Pigeon Columba livia , was extensively examined [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ]. Meanwhile, comprehensive studies analysing genetic structure and diversity of other species of the Columbidae family are still scarce [ 15 ].…”

An Overview of Traditional Small-Scale Poultry Production in Low-Income, Food-Deficit Countries

“…in Turkey where they are kept for pleasure and for food by many hundreds of "fanciers" [27]. In Egypt (where pigeons are important in sport racing and -as in other Arab countries -for food) mDNA was used to characterize ten well known and clearly identified ten pigeon breeds [28].…”