Use of inter simple sequence repeats and protein markers in assessing genetic diversity and relationships among four rabbit genotypes

Abstract

<p>The importance of DNA and protein applications as powerful tools in breeding programmes is revealed. The inter simple sequence repeats (ISSR) technique was used to characterise and determine phylogenetic relationships among 4 genotypes of rabbit, namely Alexandria (Alex), V line (V), New Zealand White (NZW) and California (Cal). Six out of 7 ISSR primers exhibited sufficient variability and were used to characterise the genetic diversity and relationships among studied genotypes. A total of 141 DNA ands were detected. DNA fragments were generated with 87 (61.7%) being polymorphic, indicating considerable genetic variation among the examined genotypes. While protein electrophoresis provides a precise method for assaying variation in serum proteins which play an important part in productive performance. The results demonstrated 2 specific protein markers in Alexandria rabbits; these specific protein markers may be responsible for the superiority of Alexandria line in weight. Phylogenetic analysis based on Nei and Li unbiased genetic distance illustrated that (Alex & V) and (Cal & V) were genetically closely related. Our results showed that ISSR and protein electrophoresis are useful methods to detect different genetic expressions and understand the variability in some productive traits in rabbits.</p>