Assessment of Genetic Diversity of Indigenous Chicken Ecotypes in a Selected Areas of Tanzania

Abstract The study was conducted in the Bahi and Songea districts of Tanzania for sustainable use and conservation purposes. Blood samples of 100 indigenous chickens were collected and genotyped using eighteen microsatellite markers recommended by the International Society for Animal Genetics, Food and Agriculture Organization Advisory Group for Animal Genetics. Data were analyzed using GenAIEXv.6.5 software. Results showed that Bahi had a total of 117 alleles while Songea had 111 alleles. There were 6.5 alleles on average per locus for Bahi and 6.1 for Songea. The locus with the least number of alleles was MCW0078, with just 5 alleles, whereas the MCW0111F locus was highly polymorphic with 20 alleles. The mean number of different alleles (Na) was 7.250 ± 0.544 for Bahi and 7.000 ± 0.742 for Songea, with an overall average of 7.125 ± 0.515. The number of private alleles was 31 and 37 for Bahi and Songea, respectively. Genetic variation among the population was 17%, while within the population it was 83%. Nei’s genetic distance was calculated to be 0.589, and the principal of coordinate analysis (PCoA) revealed two clusters with some intermixes. At p < 0.05, divergence from Hard Weinberg equilibrium was significant in all loci. In conclusion, there was a considerable genetic variation between the two study populations hence, they are very useful in conservation programs of the indigenous chickens.