Evolutionary relationship based on nucleotide sequence variations in vimentin and CD4 genes among indigenous and commercial poultry species

Abstract

Variations in the CD4 and vimentin (cluster of differentiation 4) genes among Nigerian indigenous and commercial poultry species were investigated to reveal the evolutionary relationship among the poultry group. Genes amplifications were done from isolated DNA using polymerase chain reaction method (PCR) and sequenced. Amplicons of 125bp and 410bp were respectively amplified for the genes among all the poultry groups. A nucleotide sequence analysis of each gene revealed no single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) present in the vimentin gene. Two SNPs were revealed in the CD4 gene in the commercial chicken types positions C161T and G110A. A Phylogenetic tree based on the vimentin gene revealed that the indigenous and commercial broiler chicken breeds were the most genetically related. The duck was genetically more related to the indigenous and commercial broiler chicken breeds than the commercial layer chicken (Isa brown) based on the gene amplified region. All studied poultry species clustered in a single ingroup when compared to other selected reference poultry species. The figure based on the CD4 gene revealed that all the poultry species (indigenous, commercial and selected referenced poultry species) were grouped into two ingroups clusters. The vimentin gene appears to be conserved among the poultry species in the studied area with close similarity across all species while the region in the CD4 gene may have been conversed across the different poultry species.