Abstract
The amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) technique with three EcoRI/TaqI primer combinations was used in 185 unrelated individuals, representative of 6 local goat breeds of Albania, and 107 markers were generated. The mean Nei?s expected heterozygosity value for the whole population was 0.199 and the mean Shannon index was 0.249, indicating a high level of within-breed diversity. Wright?s FST index, Nei?s unbiased genetic distance and Reynolds? genetic distance were calculated. Pairwise Fst values among the populations ranged from 0.019 to 0.047. A highly significant average FST of 0.031 was estimated, showing a low level of breed subdivision. Most of the variation is accounted for by differences among individuals. Cluster analysis based on Reynolds? genetic distance between breeds and PCA were performed. An individual UPGMA tree based on Jaccard?s similarity index showed clusters with individuals from all goat breeds. Analysis of population structure points to a high level of admixture among breeds.
Highlights
IntroductionGoats are one of the most important livestock species in Albania, providing 6% of total milk production and 11% of total meat production
There was no significance between Nei’s expected heterozygosity and the Shannon index, but the rank correlation of these estimates was highly significant for each breed
Dukati exhibited the highest level of genetic diversity and Hasi the lowest
Summary
Goats are one of the most important livestock species in Albania, providing 6% of total milk production and 11% of total meat production. Sixty percent of goat flocks are managed in hilly and mountainous areas of Albania and the predominant production system is extensive. In Albania 99% of the goat population consist of the local ecotypes. The main characteristics included in the objective of goat breeding programs are the reproduction and milk production performances
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