Genetic diversity and population structure of Anatolian Hair goats, an ancient breed

Abstract

Abstract. This study aimed to investigate the genetic characterization and diversity of Hair goats from 10 regions using 20 microsatellite markers. A total of 522 alleles were observed. The INRA0023 locus exhibited the greatest number of alleles (48), while the DRBP1 locus had the highest effective allele number (16.27), and the BM1818 and DRBP1 loci had the highest polymorphic information content value (0.94). The expected heterozygosity value ranged from 0.85 (ILSTS011) to 0.94 (BM1818, SRCRSP15, and DRBP1). The Hair goat populations in Konya and Hatay displayed the lowest and highest allele numbers, with values of 10.40 and 16.25, respectively. The fixation index (FIS) values are significant in defining population structures and determining the extent of heterozygosity losses. The FIS values exhibited a range of 0.031 in Muǧla to 0.226 in Burdur. A total of 107 unique alleles were identified in Hair goat populations. However, it is noteworthy that, out of all the alleles, only 25 had a frequency exceeding 5 %. The results indicate that the microsatellite markers utilized demonstrate sufficient levels of polymorphism, making them appropriate for efficiently investigating the genetic variability of Hair goat populations.