Genetic Variability and Relationships of Native Japanese Chickens Assessed by Microsatellite DNA Profiling - Focusing on the Breeds Established in Kochi Prefecture, Japan -

Abstract

Blood samples were collected from eight native Japanese breeds of chickens (Miyadi-dori, Ohiki, Onaga-dori, Shoukoku, Tosa-Jidori, Tosa-Kukin, Toutenkou and Uzurao) and two foreign breeds of chickens (White Leghorn and Rhode Island Red) to examine the genetic variability and relationships among the breeds by using a microsatellite DNA technique. Except for the Shoukoku breed, the other Japanese chicken breeds all originate from Kochi Prefecture. Ohiki, Onaga-dori, Tosa-Jidori, Toutenkou and Uzurao are fancy fowl, and Miyadi-dori and Tosa-Kukin are utility fowl. Among the fancy fowl, Ohiki, Onaga-dori, and Toutenkou males have thick and long feathers in the saddle and tail. Genetic variabilities of the 20 microsatellites examined, varied depending on the breed: the mean number of alleles per locus ranged from 2.05 (Miyadi-dori) to 3.90 (Rhode Island Red); proportion of polymorphic loci ranged from 0.75 (Miyadi-dori) to 1.00 (Rhode Island Red, Shoukoku and Uzurao); and mean expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.330 (Miyadi-dori) to 0.607 (Rhode Island Red). Unique microsatellite alleles were detected in each breed. Using the neighbour-joining method, phylogenetic trees were constructed based on the genetic distances of D A and D ST . Among the breeds originating from Kochi Prefecture, fancy and utility breeds belonged to different clusters. Among the fancy breeds, those having thick and long feathers in the tail and saddle showed a close genetic relationship to the Shoukoku breed, which also has thick and long feathers in the tail and saddle.

Endothelin Receptor B2 (EDNRB2) Is Responsible for the Tyrosinase-Independent Recessive White (mow) and Mottled (mo) Plumage Phenotypes in the Chicken

“…On the other hand, the Cys244Phe substitution was identified in five Japanese native breeds [Minohiki (Shizuoka), Onagadori, Ohiki, Shokoku, and Uzurao]. Except for Uzurao (a rumpless breed), all of these breeds have a long tail, and are considered to have a close genetic relationship [56] , [57] , [58] . This finding suggests that the mo w mutation may have originated from a common ancestor of a Japanese or Asian population of the long-tailed native chicken breeds.…”

Use of Cattle Microsatellite Markers to Assess Genetic Diversity of Thai Swamp Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis)

“…Microsatellites have been identified and used for genetic studies of many organisms including several livestock species (Selvi et al, 2004;Chen et al, 2005;Osman et al, 2005;Girish et al, 2007) but only a few genetic studies have been devoted to the Thai swamp buffalo (Triwitayakorn et al, 2006). Moreover, no systematic studies have been undertaken to develop polymorphic DNA markers specific to this species.…”

Analysis of Genetic Diversity of the Thai Swamp Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) Using Cattle Microsatellite DNA Markers

“…Microsatellites or short tandem repeats (STRs) are the DNA markers of choice for genome mapping, genetic dissection of complex traits and genetic diversity studies because of their highly polymorphic nature, co-dominant manner of inheritance and ease of typing (Barendse et al, 1994(Barendse et al, , 1997Bishop et al, 1994;Kappes et al, 1997;MacHugh et al, 1997;Kim et al, 2001). At present, microsatellites have been identified and used for genetic study in many organisms including several livestock species such as in native Japanese chickens (Osman et al, 2005), Native Chinese chicken (Chen et al, 2005), and Mafriwal dairy cattle (Selvi et al, 2004). However, only a few genetic studies have been devoted to the Thai swamp buffalo, and no systematic studies have been undertaken to develop polymorphic DNA markers in this species.…”