Study of genetic diversity of the Guaymi and Guabala bovine populations by means of microsatellites

Abstract

A total of 61 individuals belonging to the Guaymi (GY) and Guabala (GUA) populations were typed with 27 microsatellites. A mean of 5.61 (GUA) and 7.5 (GY) alleles per population was typed, and Fis values were 0.053 (GUA) and 0.033 (GY). The exclusive alleles of each population were 67 (GY) compared to the 16 observed in the GUA population, while 135 alleles are shared by both. The Ho and He were 0.628 (GUA) and 0.710 (GY) and 0.648 (GUA) and 0.724 (GY) respectively. The fixation index Fst was 0.068 demonstrating a moderate level of genetic differentiation. The effective number of migrants per generations was 3.40 between GY and GUA. A comparison with most popular breeds in Panama Bos indicus (GYR, BRH, SIN, GUZ and NEL) and Bos taurus (FRI, SPA and HER) was made because of possible crossbreeding. The AMOVA and a NeighborNet tree performed, provided a detailed interrelationship network, and show an important difference between Panama creoles cattle population and most popular breeds. Strategies for preserving the original Panama cattle creole population should be considered in order to prevent the breed from becoming extinct and to strengthen the breed's capability in future breeding programs.