Genetic Diversity and Differentiation of the Nagoya Breed Inferred from Microsatellite DNA Polymorphisms

Abstract

The Nagoya breed is a popular Japanese native chicken, a dual-purpose breed raised for eggs and meat. We used 24 microsatellite markers were employed to analyze the diversity and differentiation of the four strains (NG1-4) of the Nagoya breed established at the Aichi-ken Agricultural Research Center. The proportion of polymorphic loci (P_poly) was 0.83. The mean number of alleles per locus ranged from 2.583 to 3.125. The mean expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.341 to 0.395. The index of random mating (F_is) per population ranged from 0.054 to 0.158. Significant population differentiation was detected among all strain pairs. These data suggest that the Nagoya breed has low genetic diversity and the four strains are highly differentiated. The genetic information in the current study will contribute to effective breeding and efficient conservation of the Nagoya breed.