Genetic Variability and Relationships of Japanese Native Chickens Assessed by Means of Microsatellite Profiling Approach-Focusing on the Oh-Shamo (Japanese Large Game) and Its Related Breeds

Abstract

We investigated genetic relationships of nine Japanese native chicken breeds (Oh-Shamo, Ko-Shamo, Yakido, Kinpa, Koeyoshi, Minohiki, Satsuma-dori, Hinai-dori, and Shoukoku) coupled with one foreign breed (White Leghorn) by means of microsatellite profiling technique. Excepting the Shoukoku breed, the other Japanese breeds are classified as Shamo or Shamo-related breeds. Genetic variabilities of 20 microsatellites examined varied depending on the breeds, as the number of alleles per locus, proportion of polymorphic loci, and mean expected heterozygosity ranged from 1.65 to 4.70, 0.50 to 1.00, and 0.206 to 0.670, respectively. Microsatellite alleles being unique to a particular breed were detected in all breeds. Attempted phylogenetic tree reconstruction based on the genetic distance estimated for all possible population combinations revealed that the genetic divergence was evident between the Japanese breeds and the foreign breed. Within Japanese native breeds, three groups could be differentiated : (1) Oh-Shamo and Ko-Shamo, (2) Yakido, Kinpa, and Koeyoshi, and (3) Minohiki and Shoukoku. The Satsuma-dori and Hinai-dori were located far from these 3 groups.