Gammoudi A
National Agronomic Institute of Tunisia
Tunisia
Title: Molecular characterization and genetic distance evaluation between two sheep breeds: The Tunisian Barbarine and Tunis sheep in USA
Biography
Biography: Gammoudi A
Abstract
A total of 116 blood samples of Barbarine breed raised in the central of Tunisia (Sidi Bouzid and Kairouan) and a total of 28 samples of Tunis sheep breed were used in this study. The main objective was to evaluate the genetic distance between the Barbarine and Tunis sheep of United States of America which was originated from the Barbarine. A panel of 28 microsatellites recommended by FAO was used in this study. Main results showed polymorphisms of 100% and 95% respectively for Tunis sheep and the Barbarine. The parameter values of the genetic diversity of Tunis and Barbarine were 5,6 and 6,1 for the average number of alleles; -0,014 and 0,295 for Fis; 0,687 and 0,485 for the observed heterozygosity. Fixation Index was 0.141 showing an overall deficit of heterozygoties of 14%. The Fst coefficient was 0.119 showing that a large proportion (88%) of the total genetic variation was explained by the variation within populations and the rest of this variability (12%) was allocated to the differences between populations. The genetic distance between the two breeds showed that the population "Tunis" was far from the 10 other Barbarine populations. Genetic diversity within populations and genetic diversity inter population (fixation index or F statistics, analysis of PCA results) showed that the existence of genetically distinct subpopulations. Two major implications could be derived: 1) Possibilties of selection within the identified on subpopulations and 2) The urgence of preserving the identifies subpopulations before they become extinct.