Genetic variability of some sheep populations of Saudi Arabia based on microsatellite markers
Mahmoud, Ahmed Hossam . 2016
The genetic diversity and population genetic structure of sheep (Ovis aries) are poorly documented in Saudi Arabia. The present study was conducted to address some of these genetic aspects using three Saudi sheep populations namely; Naeimi (NM), Herri (H) and Najdi (NJ). Genomic DNA was extracted from blood of 156 sheep, 47, 47 and 62 individuals for Naeimi, Herri and Najdi sheep breeds, respectively. Eighteen microsatellite markers were used to genotype these 156 sheep. There were 212 alleles generated employing the 18 microsatellites loci with a mean of 11.80 alleles per locus, with a range of observed and expected heterozygosity from 0.505 to 0.875 and 0.595 to 0.854, respectively. Eleven of the microsatellites loci studied in NM, three loci in H and fifteen loci in NJ were found to be deviated from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The fixation genetic indices (Fst) among the three populations were very low, ranging from 0.017 (between NJ and H) to 0.033 (between NJ and NM), indicating low population differentiation among the three sheep populations. The present study showed that the microsatellite markers are powerful tool in breeding programs, although there is a need for applying more microsatellites in order to discriminate fairly between sheep populations of Saudi Arabia.
ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT
We detected genetic variations and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of tyrosinase gene (Tyr) among seven camel
populations in Saudi Arabia. Exon 1 of TYR was amplified…