Studies of genetic differentiation within breeds of Japanese indigenous chickens.

Abstract

Genetic differentiation within breeds was analyzed using 30 populations belonging to six Japanese and one Bangladesh indigenous breeds and to two improved breeds of chickens. Gene frequencies at four blood group (A, B, D and E) and 7 blood protein (Akp, Akp-2, Es-1, Amy-1, Alb, Tf and Pas) loci were examined. Although some specific patterns of gene frequencies were observed between breeds, no such patterns were found between local populations within each breed. Genetic distances between the populations within breeds were small. Cluster analysis showed that almost all populations within each breed belonged to one cluster. The estimates of genetic differentiation between local populations within indigenous breeds were smaller than those between strains within improved breeds. These results suggest that in most of Japanese indigenous breeds genetic differentiation between local populations is small.