Evaluation of Genetic Diversity in Ross 308 Broiler Chicken using LEI0258 Microsatellite Marker

Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) encodes for highly variable molecules, most of which are responsible for foreign antigen recognition and activation of immune responses in the host. LEI0258 microsatellite, located in the poultry MHC region, is a suitable genetic marker for determining MHC haplotypes and genetic diversity in poultry.

Considering the fact that there is no report on the frequency and types of MHC alleles and population genetic analysis in Ross 308 poultry in Iran, the present study aimed to investigate the diversity of MHC haplotypes of Ross 308 broilers by LEI0258 microsatellite.

A total of 216 blood samples were collected from two productive herds of Ross 308 broilers. After extracting DNA of the blood samples and amplifying LEI0258 microsatellite alleles, genotyping of MHC haplotypes was performed using agarose gel electrophoresis and fragment analysis techniques.

A total of seven alleles and 21 genotypes were identified for LEI0258 microsatellite in these two groups. the highest and the lowest frequencies belonged respectively to allele 385 bp (42.86 %) and allele 300 bp (4.33 %). Heterozygous 207/385 was found to be the dominant genotype in both populations. According to the similarity matrix analysis, there was an 84.56 % similarity between the two groups.

The results obtained in this study revealed a high level of heterozygosity (85.71 % and 91.35 %) and deviation from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium (P<0.0001) in these two Ross populations. Ross 308 broiler chickens had lower allelic diversity and higher genetic similarity compared to the native ones. These findings provided additional information on the use of MHC as a candidate gene marker in genetic improvement and resource conservation in broiler populations.