Microsatellite based genetic diversity and population structure of three Saudi goat breeds

• We examine the genetic diversity of goat breeds in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
• Saudi goats were classified into distinct breeds with good level of genetic diversity.
• Saudi goat breeds are still distinct, thus crossbreeding are not commonly applied.
• While, climate change is alarming in tropics, goat are capable of sustain their genetic diversity.

The genetic diversity of goat breeds in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has declined by 20% in the last five years. Three local breeds, Bishi, Jabali, Tohami and the exotic Somali goats were genotyped using 17 microsatelliate markers to assess their genetic diversity. The overall mean number of alleles was 5.74, the highest being observed in Jabali (6.88) and the lowest in Tohami (5.00). The highest overall values of observed (Ho) and expected (He) heterozygosity were 0.673 (Tohami) and 0.730 0.656 in (Somali), respectively. Coefficient of population differentiation value was highest for Somali–Bishi (0.068) and lowest for Jabali–Tohami (0.022). Similarly, The genetic distance Bishi and Somali were the least genetically related reflected by longest genetic distance (0.420) while Jabali and Bishi were the most closely genetically related as a result of shortest genetic distance (0.109). Consequently, UPGMA phenogram tree revealed grouping of Jabli, Bishi, and Tohami in one clade indicating close genetic relationship. Finally, the structure and admixture analyses figure out three inferred population are the best number of the studied goat populations. This study concludes that the three studied Saudi goat populations were classified into distinct breeds with a good level of genetic diversity. Summing up, there were a clear division observed between the Jabali and Bishi, while, Tohami individuals had some genetic shard proportion with exotic Somali individuals.