Genetic diversity is the basis for present day diversified living systems and future genetic improvement needs. Within the framework of breed conservation, genetic characterization is important in guarding breeds and is a prerequisite for managing genetic resources. The objective of this study was to use the RAPD technique to evaluate genetic diversity and relatedness within and among four horse line (white, Gray, Brown, Black). To our knowledge there is currently no information about RAPD genetic markers that detect genetic polymorphism in Erbil/Iraqi horse breeds. Information from this work provides basic genetic knowledge that is critical for conservation and breeding programs. Random amplification of polymo... More
Genetic diversity is the basis for present day diversified living systems and future genetic improvement needs. Within the framework of breed conservation, genetic characterization is important in guarding breeds and is a prerequisite for managing genetic resources. The objective of this study was to use the RAPD technique to evaluate genetic diversity and relatedness within and among four horse line (white, Gray, Brown, Black). To our knowledge there is currently no information about RAPD genetic markers that detect genetic polymorphism in Erbil/Iraqi horse breeds. Information from this work provides basic genetic knowledge that is critical for conservation and breeding programs. Random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD-PCR) was done by using 10 primers from GenScript USA company. A total of (6) Primers out of the (10) Primers gave results to find a complementary DNA Genomic sites, (OPQ-05, OPQ-06, OPQ-08, OPQ-09, OPQ-10, OPQ-12). These primers amplified on average 7 to 53 bands of sizes varying from 100bp to 1500bp. A total of 150 diagnostic bands were scored within RAPD profiles amplified by these 6 primers. Among 150 scorable bands 28 (18.67%) were recognized as polymorphic. UPGMA dendrogram based on Nei’s genetic distance grouped the investigated horse line genotypes into two clusters. The first cluster includes( white, Brown, Black) whereas the second cluster include Gray which appeared to be most distant from the other lines. In conclusion, these results indicated the effectiveness of RAPD in detecting polymorphism between horse lines and their applicability in lines studies and establishing genetic relationships among the horse lines.
