Genetic diversity of purebred boer goats of South African and Australian origin

Boer goats which originate from South Africa are popularly raised as meat goats throughout the world. They are being continuous imported into Malaysia from South Africa and Australia in large numbers. However, no information is available on the breed’s genetic characteristics or genetic variability. This information is vital to plan breeding programs which will ensure that the breed’s valued characteristics are maintained during its further improvement. This project aimed to evaluate the genetic variation within and between purebred Boer goats of South African and Australian origin. Random samples of female purebred Boer goats from South Africa (SA) and Australia (Aus) (n = 50 each) were evaluated using 15 microsatellite loci recommended by FAO. Percent polymorphism was 67% for both the Boer goat types. There were no differences between the two populations for observed number of alleles and allele size ranges at all loci. Effective number of alleles (ne) was generally the same, except for loci TGLA53, ILSTS087 and OARFCB48 which displayed slightly higher ne for Aus population. Mean observed heterozygosity too differed between the populations (0.45 for SA vs. 0.52 for Aus). The genetic distance based on UPGMA showed that the purebred South African and Australian Boer goats were closely related (d = 0.03). The results show low genetic variability in the Boer goats, which may be due to selection and mating practices in their respective countries of origin. The Australian Boer goats, despite having originated from the South African population some generations before, have not changed much genetically. However, they seem to have slightly greater genetic variability than the population of origin.

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