Microsatellite genetic differentiation analysis of two local chicken breeds compared with foreign Hy-line strain

Abstract

The present study was conducted on two Egyptian native breeds (Dandarawi and Fayoumi) and commercial laying hens (brown Hy-line) to estimate genetic differentiation using microsatellites and their association with egg production traits. Five microsatellite markers, four located on Z chromosome and one located on chromosome 1 were used in this study. The present results indicated that the Hy-line strain had significantly better egg production parameters and feed conversion ratio compared to two native breeds. Inversely, the two native breeds had better eggshell quality measurements compared to Hy-line hens. The five microsatellite genetic markers applied in the present study success to reveal high degree of polymorphism among the three breeds used here. Also, a clear discriminating power was achieved in differentiation among studied chicken populations. The genetic distance revealed that Fayoumi breed is mostly related to Hy-line strain more than Dandrawi breed. © Asian Network for Scientific Information, 2008.