Genetic Characterization of Albanian Sheep Breeds by Microsatellite Markers

Albania is a Mediterranean country, located in West of Balkan Peninsula. Albanian farmers have a long tradition in sheep breeding. Sheep comprise one of the most important domestic livestock species in Albania and play an important role in the livelihood of local community since they are a good source of meat, milk and coarse wool (Dobi et al., 2006; Porcu and Markovic, 2005). There are three important local sheep breed in Albania: Bardhoka, Ruda and Shkodrane, which are also the object of this study. The genetic characterization of a breed is very important for the evaluation of genetic variability, which is an important element in conservation of genetic resources and for breeding strategies. Genetic characterization can be done by different classes of molecular markers, such as Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphisms (RFLP) (Abdel-rahman et al., 2010), Single Stranded Conformation Polymorphisms (SSCP) (Bastos et al., 2001), Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers (Jawasreh et al., 2011; Kantanen et al., 1995; Paiva et al., 2005; Qasim et al., 2011), Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphisms (AFLP) (Xiao et al., 2009), Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNP) (Pariset et al., 2006a,b), and microsatellites.