Genetic differentiation of two native Egyptian goat breeds assessed by microsatellite DNA markers [electronic resource].

Includes references.

The genomes of two Egyptian native goat breeds were screened using microsatellite markers; the breeds were Zaraibi and Sinai goats. A total of 18 microsatellite markers were used to study the genetic structure and diversity within and between both populations. All eighteen tested loci were polymorphic in both populations. Number of actual alleles (Na), number of effective alleles (Ne), expected heterozygosity (He), polymorphic information content (PIC), Wright's F-statistic values and Nei's standard genetic distance (Ds) were calculated. The overall average number of alleles per locus was 18.4 .Within breeds, the number of alleles ranged from 8 to 26 alleles at the eighteen assessed loci. The average values of Ne, He and PIC of all loci were 12.3, 0.88 and 0.91, respectively. The observed global inbreeding coefficient F1s (0.13) indicated that both goat breeds (Sinai and Zaraibi) are very slightly heading towards inbreeding. Nei's standard genetic distances, yielded relationships between populations that agreed with what is known about their geographical distribution. It was concluded that microsatellite analysis is a useful tool to study the genetic diversity within and between native goat breeds and it can provide basic valuable information to assist in developing a national plan for genetic improvement of indigenous goat breeds in Egypt.

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