Abstract
BackgroundIndigenous domestic chicken represents a major source of protein for agricultural communities around the world. In the Middle East and Africa, they are adapted to hot dry and semi-dry areas, in contrast to their wild ancestor, the Red junglefowl, which lives in humid and sub-humid tropical areas. Indigenous populations are declining following increased demand for poultry meat and eggs, favouring the more productive exotic commercial breeds. In this paper, using the D-loop of mitochondrial DNA as a maternally inherited genetic marker, we address the question of the origin and dispersal routes of domestic chicken of the Middle East (Iraq and Saudi Arabia), the northern part of the African continent (Algeria and Libya) and the Horn of Africa (Ethiopia).ResultsThe analysis of the mtDNA D-loop of 706 chicken samples from Iraq (n = 107), Saudi Arabia (n = 185), Algeria (n = 88), Libya (n = 23), Ethiopia (n = 211) and Pakistan (n = 92) show the presence of five haplogroups (A, B, C, D and E), suggesting more than one maternal origin for the studied populations. Haplogroup E, which occurred in 625 samples, was the most frequent in all countries. This haplogroup most likely originates from the Indian subcontinent and probably migrated following a terrestrial route to these different countries. Haplotypes belonging to haplogroup D were present in all countries except Algeria and Libya, it is likely a legacy of the Indian Ocean maritime trading network. Haplogroup A was present in all countries and may be of commercial origin. Haplogroup B was found only in Ethiopia. Haplogroup C was only detected in the South-Western region of Saudi Arabia and in Ethiopia.ConclusionThe results support a major influence of the Indian subcontinent on the maternal diversity of the today’s chicken populations examined here. Most of the diversity occurs within rather than between populations. This lack of phylogeographic signal agrees with both ancient and more recent trading networks having shaped the modern-day diversity of indigenous chicken across populations and countries.
Highlights
Indigenous domestic chicken represents a major source of protein for agricultural communities around the world
This study aims to unravel the history and diversity of indigenous chicken from the Middle East, Northern and the Horn of Africa
D-loop haplotype variation and genetic diversity Eighty-eight haplotypes defined by 63 polymorphic sites were identified in the 706 sequences (Additional file 1: Fig. S1)
Summary
Indigenous domestic chicken represents a major source of protein for agricultural communities around the world. Village chickens are a valuable genetic resource for the countries around the world due to their adaptation to the local environment, including their higher resistance against endemic diseases. They supply highquality protein and represent a major source of income to poor communities. The main production system of indigenous chicken is scavenging or semi-scavenging, which relies on a low level of inputs This system makes up to 80% of the poultry stocks in the developing countries of Asia and Africa [2]. In contrast to the wild ancestor, village chickens have adapted very effectively to a diversity of environments including the arid and semi-arid areas. Recent genome studies have revealed candidate regions under positive selection which may be related to environmental adaptation in this species [7]
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