Current genetic profile of sheep breeds/populations from Northwestern semi arid zone of India

This study examines the genetic profiles of seven sheep breeds/populations of the Northwestern semi arid zone of India based on microsatellite markers. The coarse wooled sheep viz., Jalauni, Sonadi, Muzzafarnagri, Patanwadi, Kheri, Malpura and Munjal were analyzed with 25 microsatellite markers to determine within breed variability, genetic differentiation and relationships among them. The mean number of alleles across all the populations ranged from 6.8 to 8.7, whereas the gene diversity varied from 0.657 to 0.744. These observations reveal a considerable amount of genetic diversity available within these seven breeds/populations. Significant positive within population inbreeding estimates (FIS) were observed for all the breeds/populations which suggested a deficiency in the number of heterozygotes. The relative magnitude of global genetic differentiation was 7.9% thereby implying moderate levels of discrimination among all populations. The pair-wise genetic distance (DA) and genetic differentiation (FST) between these breeds/populations revealed Kheri and Malpura to be the closest, whilst the highest degree of genetic differentiation was found between Muzzafarnagri and Sonadi which was also supported by the tree topology. The generated information sheds light into the current genetic status and relationship between these sheep and can be utilized for their effective conservation and management.