Uganda chicken genetic resources: I. phenotypic and production characteristics

Abstract

The extent of diversity in the indigenous chicken breeds of Uganda was assessed for their potential utilisation in breeding programmes. A total of 293 indigenous-chicken-keeping households in villages across 35 districts forming 12 sub-regions of the four regions were randomly sampled for 586 mature chickens of both sexes. While only 20.8% of households were headed by women, 40.6% of indigenous chicken keepers were women. The production objectives mainly focused on chickens as sources of income from sales and household food. The chickens were predominantly managed in a scavenging (94.2%) feeding system in a mainly (96.9%) mixed crop-livestock system. The average flock size was 19.80 ± 1.21 chickens with 3.83 ± 0.29 laying hens, each producing an average of 13.41 ± 0.20 eggs/clutch and 40.3 ± 0.6 eggs/annum of 5.20 ± 0.03-month egg production age. Normal-feather strains predominated (>90%), with scattered incidences of naked neck, frizzles, polydactyl, and ptilopody traits in both sexes. Dark (49.0% hen; 43.8% cock) and white (38.3% hen; 42.4% cock) skin colours were most common among the chickens compared to yellow skin. However, yellow-coloured shanks were proportionally the most observed (41% cock; 29% hen). Orange and brown iris (eye) colours were the most common in both sexes. The hens commonly had small round earlobes with varying colours, while cocks had large oval-shaped, mainly red (70%) earlobes. The single-comb type was dominant in both sexes, with wattles almost universally present. Frizzle and polydactyl allele frequencies were significantly lower (p < 0.05) than the expected Mendelian proportions, indicating a possible state of endangerment. Meanwhile, the estimated allele frequencies of ptilopody, tufted-crest, and rose comb alleles in the population were similar (p > 0.05) to the expected Mendelian frequencies. However, these strains did not show any significant (p > 0.05) influence on the body weight or the linear morphometric estimates except for being marginally higher than the normal strains. The phenotypic correlations of body weight and morphometric traits ranged from 0.457 to 0.668 and 0.292 to 0.454 in cocks and hens, respectively. These findings provide hints about the prospects for improved performance with modifications in the production environment. The wide phenotypic diversity would support management efforts for their sustainable utilisation and preservation.

Molecular characterization of Escherichia coli virulence markers in neonatal and postweaning piglets from major pig-producing districts of Uganda

“…This study detected and characterized virulence determinants of E. coli associated with the occurrence of diarrhoea in piglets in Ugandan settings. Overall, most of the respondents in the two study districts (75%) were males, which can be explained by the fact that most households in Uganda are headed by males, as also established by Yussif et al [ 28 ]. The present study also revealed that most (92.5%) of the respondents had attained formal education, a key factor in better management practices.…”

Uganda chicken genetic resources: II. genetic diversity and population demographic history inferred from mitochondrial DNA D-loop sequences

“…This study, together with a preceding study ( Yussif et al, 2023 ), demonstrates the significance of a harmonized approach to AnGR characterization, where information on a production environment could be combined with phenotypic and molecular genetic data to guide decision-making. Indigenous chicken production under traditional husbandry conditions is characterized by the absence of pedigree data and records of origin.…”

“…Furthermore, the chicken population in the western region showed the lowest genetic diversity estimates ( Table 1 ) in this study. An earlier phenotypic study in Uganda found the chicken population in the Western region to be lighter in weight with a higher rate of inbreeding compared to the other three regions ( Yussif et al, 2023 ). The non-significant negative F ST estimate obtained among the population in the eastern region is indicative of an absence of the population genetic structure.…”

“…Moreover, all the chicken populations in this current study clustered with both the Ugandan samples (GenBank accessions: EU095034–EU095192) in the research by Mwacharo et al and the reference haplogroup E classification established by Miao et al (2013) . Hence, the Ugandan chicken population is most probably of the haplogroup-E lineage without any significant phylogeographic substructure in Uganda; this may be a consequence of the high gene flow ( Frankham et al, 2010 ) from the breeding and management practices ( Yussif et al, 2023 ) prevailing across Uganda.…”

“…Sample distribution in the randomly selected village households at least 5 km apart, were obtained from grid cells of approximately 50 km 2 across Uganda to ensure landscape data. Adapted from Figure 1 in Yussif et al (2023) , licensed CC-BY-4.0 .…”