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Abstract
The present study was conducted to evaluate the genetic variability and the genetic
divergence of 13 Spanish chicken breeds, a tester line, and a White Leghorn population,
using 24 microsatellite markers. A total of 150 alleles were detected across all population.
The number of alleles by locus ranged from 2 to 13, with the mean value being 6.25.
The mean polymorphic information content was 0.591, ranging from 0.847 to 0.172. The
combined parentage exclusion probability of excluding 1 parent or 2 parents was 99
and 100%, respectively. The observed heterozygosity was lower than the expected heterozygosity
for all loci, the mean values being 0.461 and 0.637. The observed and expected heterozygosity
ranged from 0.003 to 0.735 and 0.181 to 0.863, respectively. Mean deficit of heterozygotes
within populations (F(IS)) was 0.056 and mean fixation index of each population (F(ST))
was 0.244. The mean global deficit of heterozygotes across populations (F(IT)) was
0.286. A total of 15 private alleles in 10 microsatellites were observed, and in some
populations, fixed alleles were found for 7 microsatellites. A total of 300 birds
(83%) were properly assigned to the source population. The average observed heterozygosity
for each population was 0.461, ranging from 0.328 (Quail Castellana) to 0.538 (Red
Villafranquina), and the average expected heterozygosity was 0.488, ranging from 0.320
(Quail Castellana) to 0.550 (White-Faced Spanish). All of the Spanish breeds except
the Quail Castellana were more polymorphic than the White Leghorn population. The
mean value of the deviation of heterozygote number was 0.052. Nei's genetic distance
showed a range from 0.109 (between White-Faced Spanish and Black Menorca) to 0.437
(between Buff Prat and White Leghorn). A phylogenetic tree constructed by the neighbor-joining
method, based on Nei's genetic distance, showed a clear separation between the White
Leghorn and the remaining breeds. The results indicate that the panel of microsatellite
markers was useful in studying the genetic diversity of chicken breeds.