Genetic Conservation Programs Research Articles

Evaluating genomic inbreeding of two Chinese yak (Bos grunniens) populations

BackgroundYaks are a vital livestock in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau area for providing food products, maintaining sustainable ecosystems, and promoting cultural heritage. Because of uncontrolled mating, it is impossible to estimate inbreeding level of yak populations using the pedigree-based approaches. With the aims to accurately evaluate inbreeding level of two Chinese yak populations (Maiwa and Jiulong), we obtained genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) by DNA sequencing and calculated five SNP-by-SNP estimators (\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\:{F}_{HOM}$$\\end{document}, \\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\:{F}_{L\\&H}$$\\end{document}, \\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\:{F}_{VR1}$$\\end{document}, \\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\:{F}_{VR2}$$\\end{document}, and \\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\:{F}_{YAN}$$\\end{document}), as well as two segment-based estimators of runs of homozygosity (ROH, \\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\:{F}_{ROH}$$\\end{document}) and homozygous-by-descent (HBD, \\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\:{F}_{HBD}$$\\end{document}). Functional implications were analyzed for the positional candidate genes located within the related genomic regions.ResultsA total of 151,675 and 190,955 high-quality SNPs were obtained from 71 Maiwa and 30 Jiulong yaks, respectively. Jiulong had greater genetic diversity than Maiwa in terms of allele frequency and nucleotide diversity. The two populations could be genetically distinguished by principal component analysis, with the mean differentiation index (Fst) of 0.0054. The greater genomic inbreeding levels of Maiwa yaks were consistently supported by all five SNP-by-SNP estimators. Based on simple proportion of homozygous SNPs (\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\:{F}_{HOM}$$\\end{document}), a lower inbreeding level was indicated by three successfully sequenced old leather samples that may represent historical Maiwa yaks about five generations ago. There were 3304 ROH detected among all samples, with mean and median length of 1.97 Mb and 1.0 Mb, respectively. A total of 94 HBD segments were found among all samples, whereas 92 of them belonged to the shortest class with the mean length of 10.9 Kb. Based on the estimates of \\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\:{F}_{ROH}$$\\end{document} and \\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\:{F}_{HBD}$$\\end{document}, however, there was no difference in inbreeding level between Maiwa and Jiulong yaks. Within the genomic regions with the significant Fst or enriched by ROH, we found several candidate genes and pathways that have been reported to be related to diverse production traits in farm animals.ConclusionsWe successfully evaluated the genomic inbreeding level of two Chinese yak populations. Although different estimators resulted in inconsistent conclusions on their genomic inbreeding levels, our results may be helpful to implement the genetic conservation and utilization programs for the two yak populations.

Explorando la genética de tres poblaciones de la raza Cerdo Pelón en México

The objective of this research was to carry out a molecular genetic characterization of three Hairless Pig (HP) breed populations located in México in the states of Nayarit, Oaxaca and Yucatán to identify variations, selection effects and population genetic relationships. From blood samples, a total of 163 animals from three populations of HP were successfully genotyped. Genotyped SNP data was employed to compute genetic diversity, population structure and landscape genetic analysis. The parameters of minor allele frequency (MAF), observed heterozygosity (Ho) and Wright’s fixation index (FIS) pointed out that the population of Nayarit is the one with the greatest genetic diversity (MAF: 0.362, Ho: 0.336, FIS: 0.061). Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and a Neighbor-joining phylogenetic tree analysis showed diversification among the three HP populations and pointed out a closer genetic relationship between the HP populations and the Iberian pig breed. The Admixture analysis showed as well common ancestry shared from commercial and Iberian breeds in the HP populations in different gradients. For the analysis of the relationships between geographic and genetic distances, Mantel test was computed and the results described a distribution pattern of the geographical locations along the genetic distances similar to the clustering pattern of the PCA and Neighbor-joining phylogenetic tree analysis. The results obtained manage to present the HP poor conservation state and the need to stablish a genetic conservation program meaning an effort to prevent the loss of a significant cultural, natural and genetic resource. Keywords: genetic diversity, landscape genetics, native breeds, genetic resources.

Microbiota Analysis of Ejaculated Honey Bee Drone Semen and the Effect of Semen Collection Method on Bacterial Loads.

Artificial insemination in queen honey bees is the only tool that provides complete control over mating for research and breeding purposes, making it essential in genetic improvement and conservation programs in this species. The aims of this study were to characterize drone semen bacterial loads by culture-dependent and independent methods and to describe their variation depending on the method of semen collection, the colony and the apiary. In the first experiment, the bacterial loads of semen collected from the seminal vesicles or from ejaculates was studied using culture-dependent methods. The collection method had a significant influence on the overall bacterial count in semen. Out of the 42 semen samples analyzed, 26 (61.9%) tested positive for bacterial isolation. This encompassed the entirety of samples obtained from the seminal vesicles (21 of 21), whereas only 23.8% of those derived from ejaculates (5 out of 21) showed bacterial isolation. In the second experiment, next-generation sequencing techniques were used to describe the microbiome of ejaculated drone semen for the first time. The most abundant phyla were Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Bacteroidota and Actinobacteriota, while the most abundant genera were Lactobacillus, Staphylococcus, Prevotella, Alloprevotella and Streptococcus. The results showed that the apiary had a significant effect on the community structure composition and abundance of the seminal microbiota, and significative differences in abundance were observed for the genera Sphingomonas, Methylobacterium-Methylorubrum, Bifidobacterium and Alloprevotella. Significant differences were also observed in the richness of the microbiota between apiaries and colonies.

The use of SNP markers for cattle breed identification.

A potential application of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in animal husbandry and production is identification of the animal breed. In this study, using chosen marker selection methods and genotypic data obtained with the use of Illumina Bovine SNP50 BeadChip for individuals belonging to ten cattle breeds, the reduced panels containing the most informative SNP markers were developed. The suitability of selected SNP panels for the effective and reliable assignment of the studied individuals to the breed of origin was checked by three allocation algorithms implemented in GeneClass 2. The studied breeds set included both Polish-native breeds under the genetic resources conservation programs and highly productive breeds with a global range. For all of the tested marker selection methods ("delta" and two FST-based variants), two separate methodological approaches of marker assortment were used and three marker panels were created with 96, 192, and 288 SNPs respectively, to determine the minimum number of markers required for effective differentiation of the studied breeds. Moreover, the usefulness of the most effective panels of markers to assess the population structure and genetic diversity of the analyzed breeds was examined. The conducted analyses showed the possibility of using SNP subsets from medium-density genotypic microarrays to distinguish breeds of cattle kept in Poland and to analyze their genetic structure.

High Public Good Values for Ecosystem Service Attributes of on-farm Quinoa Diversity Conservation in Peru

Agrobiodiversity is associated with a range of important but poorly quantified public good ecosystem services, the conservation of which requires public support. With a view to determining the general public’s willingness to pay (WTP) for such conservation, we organised interviews with 491 adult Peruvian residents in three regions a stated preference choice experiment (CE) to elicit the value they place on crop genetic resources conservation, using quinoa cultivation as a case study. Responses revealed strong support for the conservation of quinoa diversity particularly when conservation was framed in terms of conserving national cultural identity or food security. Respondents were willing to make a one-off donation of US$31.79 to an in situ on-farm quinoa crop diversity conservation programme, placing the highest values on programme attributes related to securing bequest/existence and option values, followed closely by stable landscape conservation. WTP was higher when the public was reminded that conservation also contributed to national cultural identify or food security. A conservative aggregation of the WTP estimates to the population of the three regions results in an estimated total WTP for quinoa conservation of US$24.18 m and a benefit-cost ratio of 1.22. Findings demonstrate the significant and frequently ignored social welfare benefits associated with non-market agrobiodiversity-related public good ecosystem services, in this case equivalent to just over a quarter of market production values. Such information can be used to design and prioritise quinoa genetic diversity conservation programmes with an emphasis on such attributes.

Effects of gibberellic acid concentration and fruit maturation stage on seed germination and vigor of pitahaya seedlings.

With increased interest in cultivation, the study of white-fleshed pitahaya (Selenicereus undatus (Haw.) D.R. Hunt, Cactaceae family) seedling production is of fundamental importance in the search for novel techniques to increase cultivation and guarantee homogeneous and productive orchards. The present study investigated the influence of various gibberellic acid (GA3) concentrations and fruit maturation stages on seed germination and vigor of white-fleshed pitahaya seedlings, considering the physiological quality of seedlings produced to support genetic breeding and conservation programs of the species. White-fleshed pitahaya seeds at two maturation stages (physiologically ripe and maintained at 10 °C in Biochemical Oxygen Demand incubators for three months) were treated with varying GA3 concentrations of 0, 50, 100, and 500 mg/L. We observed the influence of fruit storage on seedling germination, emergence, and growth as a function of GA3 concentration. According to the results, seeds extracted from ripe white-fleshed pitahaya fruits grown under the conditions tested here required GA3 application to increase seedling emergence and vigor, with optimal doses in the 150-300-mg/L range. In the case of pitahaya fruits intended for storage for future seed removal and maintained under the same sowing conditions, the application of higher doses of GA3 was necessary when compared to the previous condition, with a minimum dose of 500 mg/L GA3. The present study shows that the maturation stage of white-fleshed pitahaya fruits intended for seed removal influences the quality of seedlings; therefore, the use of seeds extracted from ripe pitahaya fruits without fermentation is more appropriate for the purpose.

Exploration of Species Diversity as Ecological Conditions Vary to Determine the Possible Areas for Collecting Tree Seeds in Amhara Region, Ethiopia

The aim of this study was to determine the forest species trees and shrubs that occur in the Amhara region, Ethiopia, for determining the possible areas for collecting seeds and propagations to meet genetic conservation and use programs as well as the recovery of degraded areas. The study was conducted at Fudi Natural Forest in Fagta Lekoma district, Amhara region, northwestern Ethiopia. Using geographic information systems (GISs), the points of presence of species were plotted on the USGS SRTM map (GTOPO30) at 1 : 250,000 scale (USGS, 2018) using Arc GIS 10.1 software (ESRI, 2011). The map has been cropped and presented only for the citizens that contained points of presence of the species. Figures were generated in the JPG format for each species individually, presenting the distribution of each according to the altitude of the region. The maps were elaborated using multiple linear regressions, relating the bioclimatic variables with the numerical models of latitude, longitude, and altitude. Descriptive statistical analysis was initially performed. This was followed by performing a normality test to observe the data distribution. In the region, 1250 individuals of 32 families and 46 species were surveyed. The families most found in the northeast, north, northwest, southwest, southeast, and west regions were Mimosoideae, Euphorbiaceae, Celastraceae, and Rubiaceae.

Genome-wide association study for reproduction traits in Colombian Creole Blanco Orejinegro cattle.

The profitability of the beef cattle production system relies heavily on reproductive traits. Unfortunately, certain traits, such as age at first calving (AFC), calving interval (CI), and gestation length (GL), can pose challenges in traditional breeding programs because of their low heritability (0.01-0.12) and sex-limited characteristics. Another important aspect is the conservation of the genetic resources of animals adapted to the Colombian regions, which implies the preservation and rational use of the creole breeds in the country market. Therefore, this study aimed to identify genomic regions in the creole cattle breed Blanco Orejinegro (BON) that influence the reproductive traits in females. The dataset comprised 439 animals and 118,116 single-nucleotide polymorphisms' (SNPs) markers. The GS3 program was used to identify the SNP effects employing the BAYES Cπ methodology. The number of SNPs with effect for AFC was 25, 1527 for CI, and 23 for GL. Some of the genes found associated with reproductive and growth traits as well as immune response and environmental adaptation ECE1, EPH, EPHB2, SMARCAL1, IGFBP5, IGFBP2, FCGRT, EGFR, MUL1, PINK1, STPG1, CNGB1, TGFB1, OXTR, IL22RA1, MYOM3, OXTR, CNR2, HIVEP3, CTPS1, CXCL8, FCGRT, MREG, TMEM169, PECR, and MC1R. Our results evidenced a high contribution of the genetic architecture of the Colombian creole cattle breed Blanco Orejinegro that may impact should be included in implementing genetic improvement and conservation programs.

Phenotypic characterization and genetic diversity of indigenous chickens of Jordan in comparison with native and commercial breeds ‎for conservation and breeding purposes

Indigenous chickens of Jordan are facing extinction and need genetic conservation because they were unable to commercially compete in poultry industry because of low genetic ability ‎compared to commercial layers. The study aimed to investigate phenotypic and genetic diversity ‎of village chickens in the Jordan using discriminant analyses procedures to provide a basis for ‎sustainable genetic conservation and utilization program to overcome any possible extinction. The ‎sampled chicken population of 578 one-year old chickens (125 males and 433 females) was ‎phenotypically characterized for 15 biometric and plumage traits from major cities of the three ‎regions; Middle, North, and South. The traits variations within and between breeds were detected ‎statistically by stepwise discriminant and canonical-discriminant of uni- and multivariate analyses. ‎The results showed the sampled population as village chickens in Jordan is comprised of ‎indigenous (Baladi) breed (85%) and few exotic and commercial breeds. The breeds were distinct ‎and differentiated based on phenotypic traits indicating high genetic variability. The major ‎phenotypic traits that showed significant power to differentiate breeds were comb type, body ‎weight, comb size, earlobe color, wattle size, face color and breast size in males and comb type and ‎size, body weight, face and breast size, leg color and wattle size in females. Recent and past ‎crossings, admixture or migration from exotic and commercial breeds were noted. Moreover, low ‎levels of phylogeographic structure were observed across the studied breeds. In conclusion, there is need to conserve the indigenous breed in situ and in vivo for its adaptive gene pool in coming ‎days of persisted climate change and diseases threats.

Polyembryonic twin seedlings in Madhuca diplostemon (Sapotaceae) - a critically endangered and endemic species of the Western Ghats

Madhuca diplostemon is a critically endangered and endemic species of the southern Western Ghats, represented by a single mature individual. The occurrence of twin seedlings in this species is being reported here for the first time will be useful future genetic improvement and conservation programs for this species.

Characterization of the genetic diversity, structure, and admixture of 7 Chilean chicken breeds

The Mapuche fowl is an autochthonous breed raised in Chile and represents an important zoogenetic resource for the local economy. This study aimed at investigating the genetic diversity, relationship and population structure of 96 local Chilean chickens derived from 3 ecotype of Mapuche fowl (Kollonka, Ketro, and Kollonka de aretes), 2 ecotype Chilean (Trintre, Cogote pelado) and 2 breeds (Light Brahma and Barred Plymouth Rock) using 12 microsatellite markers. In total, 113 alleles were detected in all populations, with a mean of 7.6 alleles per population. In all population chicken breeds, the observed and expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.91 to 0.98 and from 0.69 to 0.79. Furthermore, all populations showed significant deviations from Hardy-Weinberg expectations. Across each population, the global heterozygosity deficit (FIT) was -0.174, population differentiation index (FST) was 0.073, and the global inbreeding of individuals within breed (FIS) was -0.267. The phylogenetic relationships of chickens were examined using neighbor-joining trees constructed at the level of population. The highest Nei's standard genetic distance value of 0.559 was observed between Barred Plymouth Rock and Light Brahma, whereas the minimum value (0.099) was found between Kollonka and Trintre. The neighbor-joining tree constructed at population level revealed 2 main clusters, with Light Brahma, Barred Plymouth Rock, Ketro and Kollonka de aretes in 1 cluster, and Kollonka, Trintre and Cogote pelado breeds in the second cluster. Based on the results of the STRUCTURE analysis, the most likely number of clustering of the population evaluated was at K=3, with Light Brahma and Barred Plymouth Rock breeds forming their own distinct clusters, while Kollonka, Ketro, Kollonka de aretes, Trintre and Cogote pelado breeds clustered together. This study represents the first report of genetic diversity in these populations in Chile. These results can be used as baseline genetic information for genetic conservation program, for instance, to control inbreeding and to implement further genetic studies in local Chilean chickens.

Optimizing Microsatellite Marker Panels for Genetic Diversity and Population Genetic Studies: An Ant Colony Algorithm Approach with Polymorphic Information Content.

Microsatellites are polymorphic and cost-effective. Optimizing reduced microsatellite panels using heuristic algorithms eases budget constraints in genetic diversity and population genetic assessments. Microsatellite marker efficiency is strongly associated with its polymorphism and is quantified as the polymorphic information content (PIC). Nevertheless, marker selection cannot rely solely on PIC. In this study, the ant colony optimization (ACO) algorithm, a widely recognized optimization method, was adopted to create an enhanced selection scheme for refining microsatellite marker panels, called the PIC-ACO selection scheme. The algorithm was fine-tuned and validated using extensive datasets of chicken (Gallus gallus) and Chinese gorals (Naemorhedus griseus) from our previous studies. In contrast to basic optimization algorithms that stochastically initialize potential outputs, our selection algorithm utilizes the PIC values of markers to prime the ACO process. This increases the global solution discovery speed while reducing the likelihood of becoming trapped in local solutions. This process facilitated the acquisition of a cost-efficient and optimized microsatellite marker panel for studying genetic diversity and population genetic datasets. The established microsatellite efficiency metrics such as PIC, allele richness, and heterozygosity were correlated with the actual effectiveness of the microsatellite marker panel. This approach could substantially reduce budgetary barriers to population genetic assessments, breeding, and conservation programs.

Towards understanding the type and function of indigenous goats: input for genetic improvement and conservation programme

ABSTRACT This study aimed to provide a better understanding of the type, function, and production potential of Central Highland goats. Morphometric measurements were collected from 510 heads of goats. About 17 biologically important structural indices were computed using morphological trait measurements. The data were analyzed using SAS’s general linear model, principal component analysis, and stepwise multiple regression techniques. Body index value indicate that the Central Highland goat’s shape is rectangular, which is good conformation for meat production. The dactyl thorax, transverse pelvic, longitudinal pelvic, relative depth of thorax, and width indices suggest their suitability for meat production. However, proportionality and length indices showed an aptitude for milk production. Besides, the body ratio and depth indices indicate less susceptibility of this goat breed to dust infestation and arthritis, good walking ability, good foraging capability, and move easily in sloppy areas. In conclusion, structural indices showed that Central Highland goats could be classified as having a dual purpose and better aptitude for meat production. The results of this study could be an input for designing genetic improvement and conservation programmes for the sustainable utilization of indigenous goats.

Exploring Genetic Markers: Mitochondrial DNA and Genomic Screening for Biodiversity and Production Traits in Donkeys.

Donkeys (Equus asinus) play a pivotal role as essential livestock in arid and semi-arid regions, serving various purposes such as transportation, agriculture, and milk production. Despite their significance, donkey breeding has often been overlooked in comparison to other livestock species, resulting in limited genetic improvement programs. Preserving donkey genetic resources within each country necessitates the establishment of breed conservation programs, focusing on managing genetic diversity among populations. In recent years, significant strides have been made in sequencing and analyzing complete mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) molecules in donkeys. Notably, numerous studies have honed in on the mitochondrial D-loop region, renowned for its remarkable variability and higher substitution rate within the mtDNA genome, rendering it an effective genetic marker for assessing genetic diversity in donkeys. Furthermore, genetic markers at the RNA/DNA level have emerged as indispensable tools for enhancing production and reproduction traits in donkeys. Traditional animal breeding approaches based solely on phenotypic traits, such as milk yields, weight, and height, are influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. To overcome these challenges, genetic markers, such as polymorphisms, InDel, or entire gene sequences associated with desirable traits in animals, have achieved widespread usage in animal breeding practices. These markers have proven increasingly valuable for facilitating the selection of productive and reproductive traits in donkeys. This comprehensive review examines the cutting-edge research on mitochondrial DNA as a tool for assessing donkey biodiversity. Additionally, it highlights the role of genetic markers at the DNA/RNA level, enabling the informed selection of optimal production and reproductive traits in donkeys, thereby driving advancements in donkey genetic conservation and breeding programs.

Effect of Hen Genotype and Laying Time on Egg Quality and Albumen Lysozyme Content and Activity.

According to research, egg quality and lysozyme content are influenced by a number of factors, which are mostly known in the case of commercial hybrids, while in breeds included in genetic resources conservation programmes, new research results in this regard are emerging. The aim of the study was to determine the effect of egg laying time and genotype of selected Polish native breeds of hens on egg quality and lysozyme content and activity in the albumen. The study material consisted of eggs collected from four strains of laying hens included in the Polish conservation programme, i.e., Green-legged Partridge (Z-11), Yellow-legged Partridge (Ż-33), Rhode Island Red (R-11) and Leghorn (H-22). At week 56, 28 eggs were randomly collected at 7:00 and 13:00 h from each breed of hen and assessed for quality. Laying time influenced certain egg quality traits. Eggs laid by hens in the morning were characterised by 1.7 g lower total weight and albumen weight, 2.4 pores/cm2 higher number of shell pores, 0.15 higher albumen pH values and 0.17 lower yolk pH values compared to those laid in the morning. The time of laying did not affect the level and activity of lysozyme in the albumen. A significant negative correlation was found between eggshell traits and albumen height, and between Haugh unit and lysozyme content and activity in the albumen. The studied egg quality traits were more influenced by genotype than by the egg-laying time.

Utilization of Biotechnology, Neurotransmitter and Cytogenetic Indices in Selecting Pigeon Breeds

Investigations into LDH-A and DR-D4 genes polymorphism, neurotransmitter values and cytogenetic indices of 3 sexed pigeon breeds; non-racing pigeons, (wild rock), racing long distances pigeons (Jan Aarden) and racing short distances pigeons (Janssen) have been performed. The long-distances pigeon showed the highest brain neurotransmitters concentration (p<0.001) among pigeon breeds. Both LDH-A and DR-D4 genes polymorphism indicate the presence of different biodiversity values among pigeon breeds. The variations appeared on the position length 389bp for LDH-A polymorphism, and on two positions length of 418bp and 524bp for DR-D4 polymorphism of long distances male pigeon indicate the presence of unique diversity and overall differences in the amino acids structure in this breed. The protein sequence of both genes showed that in the position of 60 for LDH-A gene the amino acid K (lys) was converted to E (glu), while, in the positions of 117 and 153 for DR-D4 gene the amino acid R (arg) and L (leu) were converted to S (ser) and F (phe) only in long distances male pigeon compared to the other breeds. Moreover, there were slight differences in cytogenetic indices detected among the three pigeon breeds. It can be concluded that both DR-D4 and LDH-A genes polymorphism and neurotransmitters estimations in the brain tissue of racing pigeon would be useful indices for the differentiation and genetic characterization of pigeon breeds and provide a foundation for developing sustainable genetic improvement and conservation programs of the breeding and selecting racing pigeon breeders.

Cross transferability of barley nuclear SSRs to pearl millet genome provides new molecular tools for genetic analyses and marker assisted selection

AbstractPearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum(L.) R. Br.) is a valuable agronomic and industrial promising crop with high adaptation potentials considered as understudied species and is not attributed the interest it deserves. This investigation reports for the first time the transferability of barley nuclear microsatellites to pearl millet genome. This allowed the inference of the considerable potential of transferability of the nuclear simple sequence repeats (nSSRs) mapped fromHordeum vulgareL. genome toP. glaucumspecies. Out of the 42 tested SSRs, ten were found to be transferable, giving a transferability rate of 23.8%. These latter markers enabled the molecular characterization of the nine barley and nine pearl millet autochthonous landraces and revealed high levels of polymorphism and discriminatory powers. All the microsatellites were proved to be highly informative with an average polymorphic information content value of 0.74. The gene diversity index revealed a high level of diversity encompassed in both germplams with a meanHevalue of 0.80. At the species level, comparable amounts of genetic variability were detected forH. vulgareandP. glaucumlandraces. Furthermore, the set of ten transferable nSSRs exhibited high ability in revealing the genetic structure, differentiation and phylogenetic relationships among the studied germplasms. The new available nSSRs present an additional informative and discriminant set of molecular markers which will be useful in further genetic studies concerning the multipurpose speciesP. glaucumL. such as molecular fingerprinting, genetic purity assessment, genome mapping, marker-assisted breeding and conservation programs.

Genetic Diversity and Population Structure of Local Chicken Ecotypes in Burkina Faso Using Microsatellite Markers.

The objective of this study was to investigate the genetic diversity and population structure of local chicken ecotypes from Burkina Faso using microsatellite markers. A total of 71 individuals representing local chicken populations from the Centre-East (18), Centre-North (17), Sahel (18) and South-West (18) were used to estimate genetic diversity indices, population structure and phylogenetic relationships using 20 selected polymorphic microsatellite markers. The number of alleles, mean number of alleles, mean of observed and expected heterozygosity and polymorphic information content were 127, 6.35, 0.391, 0.521, 0.539 and 0.541, respectively. The estimated overall fixation index between loci (F), among populations (FIS) and inbreeding coefficient within chicken ecotypes were 0.239, 0.267 and 0.243, respectively. Analysis of the molecular variance revealed that 77% of the total genetic diversity was attributed to within-population variation and the remaining 1% and 22% were attributed to among-regions differentiation (FST) and among-individual differentiation (FIT), respectively. The highest pairwise genetic distance (0.026) was found between the local Konde ecotype and those from the Centre-North region while the lowest distance was observed between local chickens from the Sahel and the Centre-North regions (0.003). Neighbour-joining phylogenetic tree and principal component discriminant analyses confirmed the observed genetic distances between populations. The results show that local chickens in Burkina Faso have a rich genetic diversity with little differentiation between the studied populations. This study provides important information on measures of genetic diversity that could help in the design and implementation of future genetic improvement and conservation programs for local chickens in Burkina Faso.

In Vitro Propagation of Caper (Capparis spinosa L.): A Review

Caper (Capparis spinosa L.) is a shrubby plant species recalcitrant to vegetative propagation and generally difficult to propagate by seeds. This is due to the difficulties associated with seed germination, root induction from stem cuttings, and plant hardening. Propagation by tissue culture would be a good alternative and promising approach to overcome the limitations of conventional propagation. Tissue culture methods can be used for the clonal propagation of caper plants. Indeed, in many plant species, micropropagation has played a decisive role in the rapid and large-scale production of uniform and genetically stable plants. Tissue culture methods can also be used in genetic improvement and conservation programs. In this review, we first provided an overview on caper and its conventional means of propagation, then we described the different methods of caper micropropagation, i.e., in vitro seed germination and seedling development, propagation by nodal segmentation of elongated shoots (i.e., microcuttings), and adventitious organogenesis. These micropropagation methods can make it possible to overcome all the obstacles preventing large-scale propagation and genetic improvement of caper. Thus, the most updated information on the progress made in the field of caper micropropagation is reported and future perspectives are outlined.

Limited genetic diversity and high differentiation in Angelica dahurica resulted from domestication: insights to breeding and conservation

BackgroundAngelica dahurica belongs to the Apiaceae family, whose dry root is a famous traditional Chinese medicine named as “Bai zhi”. There are two cultivars (A. dahurica cv. ‘Hangbaizhi’ and A. dahurica cv. ‘Qibaizhi’), which have been domesticated for thousands of years. Long term artificial selection has led to great changes in root phenotypes of the two cultivars, and also decreased their adaptability to environment. We proposed hypothesis that the cultivars may have lost some of the genetic diversity found in the wild species and may be highly differentiated from the latter during the domestication process. However, few studies have been carried out on how domestication affected the genetic variation of this species. Here, we accessed the levels of genetic variation and differentiation within and between wild A. dahurica populations and two cultivars using 12 microsatellite markers.ResultsThe results revealed that the genetic diversity of the cultivars was much lower than that of wild A. dahurica, and A. dahurica cv. ‘Qibaizhi’ had lower genetic diversity compared to A. dahurica cv. ‘Hangbaizhi’. AMOVA analysis showed significant genetic differentiation between the wild and cultivated A. dahurica populations, and between A. dahurica cv. ‘Hangbaizhi’ and A. dahurica cv. ‘Qibaizhi’. Results from Bayesian, UPGMA, NJ and PcoA clustering analysis indicated that all 15 populations were assigned to two genetic clusters corresponding to the wild and cultivated populations. Bayesian clustering analysis further divided the cultivated populations into two sub-clusters corresponding to the two cultivars.ConclusionsOur study suggests that the domestication process is likely the major factor resulting in the loss of genetic diversity in cultivated A. dahurica populations and in significant genetic differentiation from the wild populations due to founder effect and/or artificially directional selections. This large-scale analysis of population genetics could provide valuable information for genetic resources conservation and breeding programs of Angelica dahurica.