Mean Effective Number Of Alleles Research Articles

Genetic diversity and population structure of Chinese pony breeds using microsatellite markers

China is one of the principal origins of ponies in the world. We made a comprehensive analysis of genetic diversity and population structure of Chinese ponies based on 174 animals of five indigenous Chinese pony breeds from five provinces using 13 microsatellite markers. One hundred and forty-four alleles were detected; the mean number of effective alleles among the pony breeds ranged from 5.38 (Guizhou) to 6.78 (Sichuan); the expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.82 (Guizhou) to 0.85 (Debao, Sichuan). Although abundant genetic variation was found, the genetic differentiation was low between the ponies, with 6% total genetic variance among the different breeds. All the pairwise F(ST) values were significant; they varied from 0.0424 for the Sichuan-Yunnan pair to 0.0833 for the Guizhou-Sichuan pair. All five pony breeds deviated from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, except the Yunnan pony. Phylogenetic trees of the five pony breeds based on genetic distances were constructed using a neighbor-joining method. The Sichuan and Yunnan ponies were grouped into the same branch, with a high bootstrap support value (97%). Guizhou and Ningqiang ponies were clustered into the same branch with a bootstrap value of 56%, whereas the Debao pony was placed in a separate group, with a bootstrap value of 56%. This grouping pattern was supported by genetic structure analysis.

尼日利亚非洲蜂和安徽意大利蜜蜂及其杂交二代形态特征与微卫星DNA遗传多样性

In this present work,we have investigated morphological characteristics and microsatellite DNA polymorphisms of Anhui Apis mellifera,Nigeria African honey bee and their Hybrid generationⅡ.The results showed that the average tongue length of Apis mellifera,African honey bee and their hybrid generationⅡ,respectively,is 6.09mm,5.23mm and 5.53mm,and a highly significant difference existed among them(P 0.01);the average width of right forewing,respectively,is 3.35mm,8.42mm and 8.65mm;the average area of the anterior wing,respectively,is 15.18mm2,13.23mm2 and 13.95mm2;the average length of right forewing cubital vein a,respectively,is 0.59mm,0.49mm and 0.55mm;the average length of tergum 3+4,respectively,is 4.38mm,3.80mm and 4.04mm;the average length of right forewing,respectively,is 9.06mm,3.12mm and 3.22mm,and a significant difference existed among them(P 0.05);the average length of right forewing cubital vein b,respectively,is 0.18mm,0.17mm and 0.17mm,but no significant difference existed among them(P 0.05);and the average index number of cubital vein Ci,respectively,is 3.31mm,3.07mm and 3.17mm. We further detected the microsatellite polymorphisms of Anhui Apis mellifera,Nigeria African honey bee and their Hybrid generationⅡ,and found 121 alleles.The mean number of effective alleles was 8.067,and the number of alleles per locus varied from 3 to 13,indicating that the three populations all have rich genetic diversities.The expected heterozygosity(He) of the three populations ranged from 0.5801 to 0.8526,and the average value of expected heterozygosity was 0.7591±0.0762.The polymorphism information content(PIC) ranged from 0.5158 to 0.8363,and the average value of the PIC was 0.7283±0.0879.The average expected heterozygosity of Anhui Apis mellifera,Nigeria African honey bee and their hybrid generation Ⅱ,respectively,was 0.6208,0.5780 and 0.7451.Statistical analysis indicated that highly significant difference in average expected heterozygosity existed between Nigeria African honey bee and hybrid generation Ⅱ,as well as between Anhui Apis mellifera and hybrid generation Ⅱ,but no significant difference existed between Anhui Apis mellifera and Nigeria African honey bee.The above results displayed that all three populations have high heterozygosity and rich polymorphism,and the hybrid generationⅡis highest in all three populations.The value of average genetic differentiation coefficient(FST) between Anhui Apis mellifera and Nigeria African honey bee was 4.36%,indicating that the differentiation level between the two populations was extremely high,and 8 loci were found to contribute significantly to this differentiation.In addition,the value of inbreeding coefficient(FIS) in each population was also very low(0.070),and all 15 loci were found to contribute significantly to this differentiation,indicating less inbreeding between Anhui Apis mellifera and Nigeria African honey bee.The Reynold′s distance values of Nigeria African honey bee and Anhui Apis mellifera was 0.725,and the Nm value was 0.213.These results showed that there are further Reynold′s distance and less gene flow between the two populations. These remarkable differences in morphological parameters might be caused by geographic isolation between Nigeria African honey bee and Anhui Apis mellifera in long term.Moreover,our findings indicated that morphological parameter values of the hybrid generationⅡwere lower than those of Anhui Apis mellifera,but were higher than Nigeria African honey bee,indicating that hybrid vigor in morphological characters is very significant.The genetic diversity index such as allele number,gene heterozygosity and polymorphism information content of the hybrid generationⅡ has also been significantly improved.

KERAGAMAN GENETIK EMPAT POPULASI Arenga pinnata MERR BERDASARKAN PENANDA ISOZIM

Aren tree or Sugar Palm ( Arenga pinnata Merr ) is one of bioethanol-producer which has advantages compared to other plant producing bioethanol. This study is aimed to determine the genetic diversity of aren tree populations in its natural distribution. Genetic diversity of four populations were investigated by isozyme markers with 4 enzyme systems namely Esterase ( EST), Glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase ( GOT), Diaphorase ( DIA) and 6-Phospogluconate dehydrogenase ( 6Pg). The number of alleles identified by 9 alleles are distributed on four polymorphic loci. The research revealed that mean alleles per locus was 2,2500. The mean effective number of alleles per polymorphic locus was 1,8377. All loci were of polymorphic. The mean genetic diversity within population was 0,4381and the proportion of genetic variation among populations was 0,0702. The UPGMA cluster analysis based on Nei’s standard genetic distance reflected two main clusters. The first cluster consisted of Central Java and South Kalimantan populations; while second cluster included the populations of Bengkulu and North Sulawesi.

Gliadin polymorphism in Turkish cultivated emmer wheat [Triticum turgidum L. ssp. dicoccon (Schrank) Thell.] landraces

Gliadin polymorphism in 19 landrace populations of Turkish cultivated emmer wheat [Triticum turgidum L. ssp. dicoccon (Schrank) Thell.] was assessed using the aluminum lactic acid-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (A-PAGE) technique. Being a source of useful genes, landraces of wheat represent one of the most important genetic resources available to breeders for present and future genetic improvement of wheat. This is the first genetic characterization of these 19 Turkish emmer wheat landrace populations collected from their main cultivation areas. Considerably high amounts of variation were detected within and among the populations. A total of 27 alleles (na) were identified among all analyzed populations, 10 of them being unique to populations C, D, H, K, L, M, and N. The highest allele number (na = 7) was observed in populations A and L, whereas the lowest number of alleles (na = 3) was observed in populations F, G, and U. The mean number of effective alleles (nae) was 12.33, and the mean values of gene diversity, genetic differentiation, and gene flow between populations were He = 0.92, FST = 0.296, and Nm = 0.60, respectively. Certain gliadins closely linked to dough quality, such as γ-45 and ω-35, were found in 13 and 18 of the populations, respectively. According to Pearson’s correlation coefficient values, gene diversity estimates had strong positive correlation (rP = 0.510; p = 0.026 at <0.05%) with latitude. The rest of the genetic data (na and nae) obtained in the present study showed no correlation with geographic (altitude, latitude, and longitude) or climatic factors (temperature and annual rainfall). Principal component analysis was performed to explain spatial genetic variation, revealing 90.044% of total genetic variation in three components. Results obtained from this study can effectively be used in developing more efficient breeding programs to improve wheat genotypes, and to direct genetic resource conservation studies.

Genetic analysis of silver-fir populations in the North Carpathian and Sudeten Mountains

Seeds collected from individual trees in the 16 Carpathian and 2 Sudeten silver-fir (&lt;em&gt;Abies alba&lt;/em&gt;) populations were studied with the starch gel electrophoresis in megagametophytes using 14 enzyme systems with 28 loci. The results show that the geographical distance between populations are in a small part reflected in genetic distances. There are two main groups of populations: Sudeten and Carpathian with a very big genetic distance between them. Other populations consist of a few small groups with low gene flow between them (&lt;em&gt;N&lt;sub&gt;m&lt;/sub&gt;&lt;/em&gt; = 3.286). About 80% of genetic variation is located within populations (&lt;em&gt;F&lt;sub&gt;ST&lt;/sub&gt;&lt;/em&gt; = 0.223). Average values for genetic multiplicity and diversity for Carpathian populations are as follows: number of alleles per locus: &lt;em&gt;Na&lt;/em&gt; = 2.308, with effective number of alleles &lt;em&gt;Ne&lt;/em&gt; = 1.552 and proportion of polymorphic loci 71.21%. The mean number of alleles per locus (&lt;em&gt;Na&lt;/em&gt;) varied from 2.107 to 2.607 in population. The mean effective number of alleles per locus (&lt;em&gt;Ne&lt;/em&gt;) ranged from 1.429 to 1.662. Average Fis for Carpathian populations was -0.021, which means that there is small excess of heterozygotes. The average observed heterozygosity amounted to &lt;em&gt;Ho&lt;/em&gt; = 0.275 and expected heterozygosity was &lt;em&gt;He&lt;/em&gt; = 0.269. The dendrogram structure and presence of rare alleles found in silver-fir of Czech, and Slovakian populations allow for a hypothesis that in postglaciation the silver-fir moved into the Polish Carpathians not westward from the east but from the south along river valleys from some Balkan refuges, getting North bypassing the High Tatra Range. This way, a highly diversified set of populations originated, differ in the presence of rare alleles. This differentiation is not prevented by a relatively small flow of genes between populations. The calculated gene flow &lt;em&gt;Nm&lt;/em&gt; = 3.286 also indicates isolation between the populations. It means 3.3 immigrants per generation into the studied populations.

Electrophoretic analysis of genetic diversity in natural house fly (Musca domestica L.) populations from the western and southern coasts of Turkey

In this study genetic variation was determined with isozyme analysis in 8 natural house fly (Musca domestica L.) populations from the western and southern coasts of Turkey, a part of the southern Palearctic region. For this purpose, 7 isozyme systems (ACP, AOX, CAT, HBDH, HXK, MDH, and SOD) were resolved using the native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (native-PAGE) technique. A total of 9 loci and 20 alleles were detected. The proportion of polymorphic loci in populations ranged from 44.44% to 66.67%. The overall mean number of effective alleles per locus (Ne) was 1.314 ± 0.454. The mean estimated expected heterozygosity (He) of populations was 0.177 ± 0.228. A very high proportion (93.70%) of genetic diversity was due to variation within populations while a relatively small portion (6.30%) was due to variation among populations. The average level of gene flow (Nm) was calculated to be 3.7182 per generation among all populations studied. The gene flow detected among the Aegean populations (Nm = 6.4451) was 2 times higher than the gene flow detected among the Mediterranean populations (Nm = 3.3331). Our results confirmed the high levels of genetic diversity in house flies reported earlier, supporting the notion that the southern Palearctic region, particularly the Middle East, is the most likely location for the origin of M. domestica.

Monitoring Inbreeding of WHBE Rabbits Using Microsatellites

Microsatellite polymorphisms were analyzed in F5, F6 and F7 WHBE rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) to monitor inbreeding. Out of 21 microsatellite loci, 11 were successfully amplified and showed polymorphic. For the F5 WHBE rabbits, the number of alleles per locus (Na) ranged from 3 to 9 and the mean effective number of alleles (Ne) was 1.81. The mean value of observed heterozygosity (Ho) and polymorphism information content (PIC) of the 11 polymorphic loci were 0.381 and 0.524, respectively. The power of cumulative discrimination (CDP) was 1.0. The value of cumulative exclusion probability of the 11 polymorphic loci in the absence (CPE-1) or in the presence of genetic information on the first parent (CPE-2) was 0.926 and 0.993, respectively. For the F6 WHBE rabbits, Na per locus ranged from 3 to 8 and the mean value of Ne was 1.68. The mean value of Ho, PIC, CDP, CPE-1, CPE-2 of the 11 polymorphic loci were 0.356, 0.548, 1.0, 0.931, 0.994 respectively. For the F7 WHBE rabbits, Na per locus ranged from 2 to 6 and the mean value of Ne was 1.51. The mean value of Ho, PIC, CDP, CPE-1, CPE-2 of the 11 polymorphic loci were 0.287, 0.498, 1.0, 0.891, 0.986 respectively. The average number of effective alleles and the average observed heterozygosity were decreasing continuously in F5, F6 and F7, suggesting that the purity of WHBE rabbits was increasing continuously.

Genetic Diversity and Identity of Chinese Loquat Cultivars/Accessions (Eriobotrya japonica) Using Apple SSR Markers

Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) is an underutilized fruit crop that originated in China and for which only a small number of molecular markers are available. This number can be increased by identifying apple SSRs that are transferable to loquat cultivars/accessions to provide new insight into the level of genetic diversity within loquat and synteny with apple. We evaluated 71 apple SSR markers distributed across 17 linkage groups, and identified 39 SSRs transferable to loquat. Testing 54 loquat accessions, from Japan, Spain, four provinces in China, and two wild species gave a total of 155 different alleles with a mean value of 3.38 per locus. The mean effective number of alleles was 2.21, and the mean observed heterozygosity was 0.47. These values indicate a high degree of genetic diversity in the set of Chinese loquat accessions analyzed. Unweighted pair-group method analysis based on simple matching coefficent clustered the accessions into two groups, cultivated and wild loquat. The cultivated loquat can be subdivided into three subgroups which generally reflect their geographic origin in China. The Spanish cultivars clustered with those of the Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. A core set of five SSR markers could distinguish most accessions.

Analysis of genetic diversity and estimation of inbreeding coefficient within Caspian horse population using microsatellite markers.

The present study was undertaken to genetically evaluate Caspian horses for genetic diversity and to asses whether they have experienced recent population bottlenecks. A total of 100 individuals were characterized for within breed diversity using 16 microsatellite markers. The estimated mean number of alleles was 8.69 per locus, with a total of 139 alleles in the genotyped sample. The mean effective number of alleles in the Caspian horse population was 5.86, ranging from 3.49 to 8.49. The average observed heterozygosity in the present study (0.52) was lower than to the expected heterozygosity (0.82), which may reflect the narrow genetic base of the current population of this breed. All marker loci employed in this study were very informative with an average of 0.80. The Chi-square and likelihood ratio tests performed to examine population for HWE showed some highly significant deviations from HWE. Estimated values of Wright’s fixation index, FIS (0.367) indicates a certain level of heterozygote deficiency. A significant heterozygote excess on the basis of different models, as revealed from Sign and Wilcoxon rank test suggested that Caspian horse population is not in mutation-drift equilibrium. But, the Mode-shift indicator test showed a normal ‘L’ shaped distribution for allelic class and proportion of alleles, thus indicating the absence of bottleneck events in the recent history of this breed. The present work is a contribution to the knowledge of population structure and to the assessment of genetic diversity that may be helpful to horse breeders in designing and managing breeding or conservation strategies for the Caspian horse breed.

KERAGAMAN GENETIK CENDANA (Santalum album Linn) DI KEBUN KONSERVASI EX SITU WATUSIPAT. GUNUNG KIDUL, DENGAN PENANDA ISOSIM

Sandalwood (Santalum Album Linn) is one of high economic value foret commodities. However, over exploitation without appropriate rehabilitation has serious degradation of the natural populations caused. Therefore, an ex situ conservation of this species has been established at Watusipat, Gunung kidul in 2000. It comprised of 6 populations collected from East Nusa Tenggara . The genetic diversity of these populations was investigated using isozyme genetic marker with 3 enzymes.Shikimate dehydrogenase (SHD), Esterase (EST), and Diaphorase (DIA). Thirteen alleles were identified on fife polymorphic loci. A relatively high genetic diversity was reflected by paramaters, such as the mean number of alleles per polymorphic locus (A=2.1333); the mean effective number of alleles per polymorphic locus (v= 1.6302); the mean percentage of polymorphic loci (PPL=83.333%); the mean observed heterozygosity (H o = 0.3951) and the mean expected heterozygosity (H E = 0.3166). Most of genetic diversity (95.62%) was distributed within population. Cluster analysis using UPGMA based on Nei S standard genetic distance reflected two main clusters : Palakahembi, Belu and Soebela constructed the first cluster; whereas Bama, Balela and Helangdohi formed the second cluster.

Microsatellites revealed no genetic differentiation between hatchery and contemporary wild populations of striped catfish, Pangasianodon hypophthalmus (Sauvage 1878) in Vietnam

Aquaculture of the striped catfish, Pangasianodon hypophthalmus (Sauvage 1878), in Vietnam has become one of the fastest growing primary food production sectors in the world. Although a demand on quantity of fingerlings is currently reached, it is likely that the long term quality of the stocks may be uncertain due to lacking of genetic broodstock management measures. The present study employed five microsatellite loci to investigate levels of genetic variation of the stripped catfish of the current wild stocks as well as of the selected hatcheries in Vietnam. The study included four hatchery populations and two wild populations spawned in 2005 in the Mekong and Bassac Rivers, and one wild population (spawned in 2006) in the Bassac River. The results showed no genetic differentiation among populations as revealed by F ST and a model-based clustering method. AMOVA also showed no genetic differentiation between pooled wild and pooled hatchery populations while variation within groups was significant. Genetic variation of wild (mean number of alleles per locus, A = 4.80–6.20; allelic richness, A r = 4.54–5.06; mean effective number of alleles per locus, A e = 2.86–3.20; observed heterozygosity, H o = 0.62–0.65; expected heterozygosity, H e = 0.62–0.64) and hatchery populations ( A = 4.60–5.20; A r = 4.10–4.83; A e = 2.80–3.11; H o = 0.61–0.66; H e = 0.61–0.64) were not statistically different. There were no evidences for recent genetic bottleneck in all populations. Therefore it is implied that the hatchery stocks of striped catfish in Vietnam were founded from sufficient numbers of brooders and current population size is large. The domestication process is in an early stage.

Assessment of Genetic Diversity, Mutation Drift Equilibrium and Mitochondrial D-Loop Variation in Toda buffalo—The Endangered Breed of South India

Kataria, R.S., Kathiravan, P., Bulandi, S.S., Yadav, N.K., Dubey, P.K. and Mishra, B.P. 2009. Assessment of genetic diversity, mutation drift equilibrium and mitochondrial D-Loop variation in Toda buffalo—the endangered breed of South India. J. Appl. Anim. Res., 35: 67–72. The Toda buffalo of South India was evaluated for its genetic variability and mutation drift equilibrium using a set of 25 bovine specific heterologous microsatellite markers. A total of 105 alleles were detected across 25 loci with mean effective number of alleles being 2.661. The mean observed and expected heterozygosity were 0.570 and 0.598, respectively. The test for Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) revealed significant deviations in many of the investigated loci. There were highly significant deviations from mutation drift equilibrium while the qualitative test of mode shift did not reveal any genetic bottleneck in the recent past. The mitochondrial DNA D-loop sequence analysis of 165 bp region in three buffalo breeds viz. Toda, Assamese and Murrah revealed a total of 12 haplotypes, of which five were unique and remaining seven were found to be shared among different breeds. The phylogenetic analysis indicated clustering of all the riverine buffalo haplotypes together in a single clade including Toda and Assamese while the swamp buffaloes formed a separate cluster.

The analysis of genetic diversity and differentiation of six Chinese cattle populations using microsatellite markers

A total of 321 individuals from six cattle populations of four species in a bovine subfamily in China were studied using 12 pairs of microsatellite markers. The genetic diversities within and between populations were calculated. The phylogenetic trees were constructed by (δμ) 2 and DA distances, and the divergence times between populations were estimated by (δμ) 2. Altogether, 144 microsatellite alleles were detected including 24 private alleles and nine shared alleles. Chinese Holstein had the largest number of private alleles (10), whereas, Bohai black and Buffalo had the smallest number of private alleles (2). Chinese Holstein showed the highest genetic variability. Its observed number of alleles ( Na), mean effective number of alleles (MNA), and mean heterozygosity ( He) were 7.7500, 4.9722, and 0.7719, respectively, whereas, the Buffalo and Yak showed low genetic variability. In the phylogenetic trees, Luxi and Holstein grouped first, followed by Bohai and Minnan. Yak branched next and buffalo emerged as the most divergent population from other cattle populations. Luxi and Bohai were estimated to have diverged 0.039–0.105 million years ago (MYA), however, buffalo and Holstein diverged 0.501–1.337 MYA. The divergence time of Yak versus Minnan, Holstein and buffalo was 0.136–0.363, 0.273–0.729, and 0.326–0.600 MYA, respectively.

Allelic diversity of natural oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) populations detected by microsatellite markers: implications for conservation

The allelic diversity within oil palm populations (45 native ones from 10 African countries, three breeding populations and one collection of semi-wild material) was determined using 16 microsatellite markers. A total of 209 alleles were detected, with a mean number of 13.1 alleles per locus. The mean effective number of alleles per locus (Ae) was 3.3 ± 1.3. Although the Duncan's multiple range test only separated the group of populations from Madagascar from the rest on the basis ofAe, the presence of unique and rare alleles and high values ofAesuggest that 23 of the African populations should be conserved to secure allelic diversity.

‘Genetic Diversity of Microsatellite DNA Loci of Tibetan Antelope (Chiru, Pantholops hodgsonii) in Hoh Xil National Nature Reserve, Qinghai, China

The Tibetan antelope (Pantholops hodgsonii), indigenous to China, became an endangered species because of considerable reduction both in number and distribution during the 20th century. Presently, it is listed as an Appendix?species by CITES and as Category? by the Key Protected Wildlife List of China. Understanding the genetic diversity and population structure of the Tibetan antelope is significant for the development of effective conservation plans that will ensure the recovery and future persistence of this species. Twenty-five microsatellites were selected to obtain loci with sufficient levels of polymorphism that can provide information for the analysis of population structure. Among the 25 loci that were examined, nine of them showed high levels of genetic diversity. The nine variable loci (MCM38, MNS64, IOBT395, MCMAI, TGLA68, BM1329, BMS1341, BM3501, and MB066) were used to examine the genetic diversity of the Tibetan antelope (n = 75) in Hoh Xil National Nature Reserve (HXNNR), Qinghai, China. The results obtained by estimating the number of population suggested that all the 75 Tibetan antelope samples were from the same population. The mean number of alleles per locus was 9.4 ? 0.5300 (range, 7-12) and the mean effective number of alleles was 6.519 ? 0.5271 (range, 4.676-9.169). The observed mean and expected heterozygosity were 0.844 ? 0.0133 (range, 0.791-0.897) and 0.838 ? 0.0132 (range, 0.786-0.891), respectively. Mean Polymorphism Information Content (PIC) was 0.818 ? 0.0158 (range, 0.753-0.881). The value of Fixation index (Fis) ranged from ?0.269 to ?0.097 with the mean of ?0.163 ? 0.0197. Mean Shannon's information index was 1.990 ? 0.0719 among nine loci (range, 1.660-2.315). These results provide baseline data for the evaluation of the level of genetic variation in Tibetan antelope, which will be important for the development of conservation strategies in future.

Molecular Characterisation of Nilagiri Sheep (Ovis aries) of South India Based on Microsatellites

Genetic variation in Nilagiri sheep, the only apparel wool breed in South India was studied using 25 FAO recommended ovine-specific microsatellite markers. The number of observed alleles ranged from 3 to 8 with a mean of 5 across all loci. The size of alleles ranged from 72 to 228 bp. The frequency of alleles ranged from 0.0104 to 0.5781. In total, 125 alleles were observed at the 25 loci studied. The effective number of alleles ranged from 2.18 to 6.49. The mean number of effective alleles was 3.84 across all loci. All the 25 loci were found to be highly polymorphic. The PIC values ranged from 0.4587 to 0.8277 with a mean of 0.6485. Of 25 microsatellites studied, 17 were in Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium proportions. The observed heterozygosity ranged from 0.4222 to 1.000 with a mean value of 0.7610 whereas the expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.5415 to 0.8459 with a mean value of 0.7213. Except six loci, the other loci revealed negative within-population inbreeding estimates (F IS ) indicating excess of heterozygotes in the population ofNilagiri sheep.

Identification and characterization of eight microsatellite loci in Aster amellus L. (Asteraceae)

AbstractEight polymorphic microsatellites were developed in the perennial herbaceous Aster amellus L. (Asteraceae) and characterized on three populations from France and Switzerland. The number of alleles ranged between four and 30 depending on the locus, and the mean number of effective alleles was 5.8. The average gene diversity equalled 0.744 (range: 0.419–0.957) and the overall differentiation was found significant (θ = 0.092, P &lt; 0.01). Three loci displayed significant heterozygote deficiencies, which might indicate the presence of null alleles. Amplifications were detected on eight loci in Aster alpinus L.

An evaluation of genetic diversity indices of the Red Bororo and White Fulani cattle breeds with different molecular markers and their implications for current and future improvement options

The genetic diversity of the Red Bororo and White Fulani cattle breeds of Cameroon and Nigeria was assessed with a panel of 32 markers. Estimates for the various indices of genetic diversity, total number of alleles (TNA), mean observed number of alleles (MNA), mean effective number of alleles (MNE), observed heterozygosity (Hob) and expected heterozygosity (Hex), were higher at microsatellite loci than at protein loci. Mean Hex values were above 71% at microsatellite loci in all the breeds and ranged from 37% to 41.6% at milk protein loci and from 40.9% to 45.6% at blood protein loci. The highest TNA and MNA of microsatellites were recorded for the Nigerian White Fulani. MNE of milk protein loci was highest in the Cameroonian Red Bororo, while TNA of blood protein loci was highest in the Cameroonian White Fulani. The high genetic diversity levels indicate the presence of the necessary ingredients for improvement breeding and conservation. Multi-locus estimates of within-population inbreeding (f), total inbreeding (F) and population differentiation (theta) of the breeds were significantly different from zero, except for theta of blood proteins. A high level of gene flow was found between the breeds (5.829). The phylogenetic relationship existing among the four breeds is greatly influenced by location. The high gene flow between the breeds may lead to a loss of genetic diversity through genetic uniformity and a reduction in opportunities for future breed development. We propose an improvement scheme with aims to prevent loss of genetic diversity, improve productivity and reduce uncontrolled genetic exchanges between breeds.

Microsatellite Analysis of Olive Fly Populations in the Mediterranean Indicates a Westward Expansion of the Species

Bactrocera oleae is the major insect pest of the olive fruit. Twelve microsatellite loci isolated from the genome of this insect were used in a Mediterranean-wide population analysis. These loci were highly polymorphic with a mean number of alleles per locus of 10.42 and a mean effective number of alleles of 2.76. The analysis was performed on a sample of 671 flies collected from nineteen locations around the European part of the Mediterranean basin. Despite the high level of gene flow across the Mediterranean, results support the notion of a differentiation of three subpopulations: one of the Iberian Peninsula, one of Greece and Italy and one of Cyprus. In addition, the gradual decrease of heterozygosity from the Eastern to the Western part of the Mediterranean indicates a westward expansion of the species.

Genetic Variability of Polish Population of the CapercaillieTetrao urogallus

The Capercaillie is one of the most seriously endangered bird species in Poland. It currently numbers around 650 individuals that live in four isolated populations (Lower Silesian Forest, Janów Lubelski Forest, Carpathians, Augustów Forest). This study investigated genetic variability based on the polymorphism of six microsatellite loci in the surviving Polish populations of the Capercaillie and compares the results with the analogous variability in two large, contiguous populations in Russia. The following parameters were estimated: mean number of alleles per locus, allelic richness, mean effective number of alleles per locus, heterozygosity in each of the populations investigated. Differentiation between pairs of populations was assessed using FST. The results show that despite some inevitable reduction in genetic variability, most of the Polish populations retained a substantial level of microsatellite polymorphism. Only in the population from Janów Lubelski Forest was there a significant reduction in variability, probably due to long isolation and the recent decline. That this population has long been isolated was also confirmed by the pronounced genetic differentiation from the other Polish populations. The Carpathian population of the Capercaillie was found to be genetically structured, and in the Lower Silesian Forest population heterozygosity was low, possibly as a result of the lek mating system and also the dramatic reduction in numbers.