Abstract
The use of molecular markers can support the management of endangered populations and should be combined with appropriate breeding strategies to improve productive traits avoiding the decline of the breed. The genetic variability at 10 microsatellite loci were investigated in a sample of 100 unrelated Markhoz goats (77 females and 23 males). The investigated population was reared at the Sanandaj Markhoz goat Performance Testing Station in Kurdistan, Iran. Markhoz goat, a multipurpose breed, is one of the most valuable genetic resources in Iran. All the studied loci were found to be polymorphic and a total number of 52 alleles were identified with an average number of alleles of 5.2. Moreover, some population genetic indices, such as observed and expected heterozygosity, observed and expected number of alleles, Shannon's index, Nei's expected heterozygosity, and polymorphism information content were also calculated. Despite the decreasing population size, Markhoz goat genetic diversity is still conserved. The breed seems to have a good level of genetic variability and, as a consequence, a potential margin of adaptability to environment and for future genetic improvement.
Highlights
Goat farming is a vital part of the national economy in many countries, especially in the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern regions
Microsatellite markers used in this study were previously assessed in different goat breeds (Mei et al, 2006; Marrube et al, 2007; Fatima et al, 2008; Visser and van Marle-Koster, 2009; Dixit et al, 2010; Ramljak et al, 2011)
A total of 52 different alleles were identified with observed allele numbers ranging from 4 to 6 and a mean of 5.2 alleles per locus, being similar to findings obtained by Ganai and Yadav (2001), Gour et al (2006) and Ramamoorthi et al (2009) in some Indian goat breeds
Summary
Goat farming is a vital part of the national economy in many countries, especially in the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern regions. Goats are able to provide high-quality products under diverse climatic conditions, being resilient to extreme and capricious environments (Selvaggi and Tufarelli, 2012; Selvaggi et al, 2014a). The effective management of genetic resources of farm animals requires comprehensive knowledge about breed characteristics, data on the size and structure of the populations, and the geographical distribution of genetic diversity within and between breeds (Groeneveld et al, 2010). Markhoz goat breed is one of the most valuable genetic resources in Iran. This breed is well adapted to the environmental conditions of arid and semi-arid areas where it is used as a multipurpose animal for the production of milk, meat, hair and hide (Farshad et al, 2008). Markhoz goat has a coat called mohair being the only mohair goat breed in Kurdistan province where it represents the main economic income for goat producers
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