Genetic diversity in Egyptian buffalo using microsatellite markers

Three bovine microsatellite markers named: ETH02; CSSM060 and BM1706 were used to study the genetic diversity in six Egyptian buffalo populations. The total number of animals sampled were 92, and collected from Alexandria, Kafr El-Sheikh, Great Cairo, Menofya, Al-Minya and Qina. All markers showed polymorphism with a total number of alleles 12 for each of ETH02, and BM1706 and 13 for CSSM060. Heterozygosity and Wright’s F-statistics (FIS, and FST) were calculated to determine the genetic variation in these populations. High values of observed heterozygosities were noticed in all populations. The lowest heterozygosity was 0.846 observed in Qina for the microsatellite BM1706, in contrast to heterozygosity 1.00 observed in many populations, especially for the microsatellite ETH02. All the FIS values were below zero, indicating the absence of inbreeding within the populations under study. Depending on the genetic distances, a dendrogram showing the genetic relationship among the different populations was prepared. High values of the average gene diversity were noticed, for all markers and all populations, ranging from 0.795 to 0.904 with an overall mean of 0.867. Values of gene flow or migration between populations were high, meaning that migration and admixture could have taken place between these populations. It is concluded that the Egyptian buffaloes belong to one breed.