Abstract
This study aimed at investigating the genetic diversity, relationship and population structure of 110 local Swedish chickens derived from five breeds (Gotlandshöna, Hedemorahöna, Öländsk dvärghöna, Skånsk blommehöna, and Bohuslän- Dals svarthöna, in the rest of the paper the shorter name Svarthöna is used) using 24 microsatellite markers. In total, one hundred thirteen alleles were detected in all populations, with a mean of 4.7 alleles per locus. For the five chicken breeds, the observed and expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.225 to 0.408 and from 0.231 to 0.515, with the lowest scores for the Svarthöna and the highest scores for the Skånsk blommehöna breeds, respectively. Similarly, the average within breed molecular kinship varied from 0.496 to 0.745, showing high coancestry, with Skånsk blommehöna having the lowest and Svarthöna the highest coancestry. Furthermore, all breeds showed significant deviations from Hardy-Weinberg expectations. Across the five breeds, the global heterozygosity deficit (FIT) was 0.545, population differentiation index (FST) was 0.440, and the global inbreeding of individuals within breed (FIS) was 0.187. The phylogenetic relationships of chickens were examined using neighbor-joining trees constructed at the level of breeds and individual samples. The neighbor-joining tree constructed at breed level revealed two main clusters, with Hedemorahöna and Öländsk dvärghöna breeds in one cluster, and Gotlandshöna and Svarthöna breeds in the second cluster leaving the Skånsk blommehöna in the middle. Based on the results of the STRUCTURE analysis, the most likely number of clustering of the five breeds was at K = 4, with Hedemorahöna, Gotlandshöna and Svarthöna breeds forming their own distinct clusters, while Öländsk dvärghöna and Skånsk blommehöna breeds clustered together. Losses in the overall genetic diversity of local Swedish chickens due to breeds extinction varied from -1.46% to -6.723%. The results of the current study can be used as baseline genetic information for genetic conservation program, for instance, to control inbreeding and to implement further genetic studies in local Swedish chickens.
Highlights
Intensive selection and crossbreeding in selected chicken breeds have been practiced over a long time [1] and has subsequently led to developed commercial strains that dominate the present commercial poultry industry
This study aimed at investigating the genetic diversity, genetic relationship and population structure of five local Swedish chicken breeds using 24 microsatellite markers
One hundred thirteen alleles were identified in the five local Swedish chicken breeds assessed at 24 microsatellite loci
Summary
Intensive selection and crossbreeding in selected chicken breeds have been practiced over a long time [1] and has subsequently led to developed commercial strains that dominate the present commercial poultry industry. Introduction of these strains, threatened the existence of native chicken breeds [1, 2, 3]. Most of the genetic and phenotypic studies have focused on elite commercial chicken breeds kept in industrialized countries [5]. Due to the limited mtDNA diversity, it is necessary to analyse autosomal markers in the Swedish local breeds, in order to study diversity and the relatedness between breeds. It is of special interest to identify the genetic variability among breeds to strengthen the genetic conservation program implemented by the Swedish association for local poultry
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