Genetic diversity and bottleneck analysis of Kilakarsal sheep by microsatellite markers

The genetic diversity in the Kilakarsal sheep population was analysed using 25 microsatellite markers by multiplex PCR in five panels and automated DNA sequencer. The number of alleles ranged from 3 to 13 with a mean of 7.6 across loci. The mean effective number of alleles was 3.88. The size and frequencies of the alleles ranged from 80 to 278 bp and from 0.0100 to 0.8000, respectively. The PIC values varied from 0.591 to 0.917 with a mean of 0.831. Only seven out of the 25 loci were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The mean observed and expected heterozygosity was 0.618 and 0.725, respectively. Sixteen loci had positive FIS values and nine had negative values. The mean FIS was 0.147. Mode-shift analysis revealed a normal L-shaped curve indicating that Kilakarsal population is non-bottlenecked. Results of the present study will help to formulate conservation strategies for the Kilakarsal sheep.