Genetic diversity of pituitary transcription factor 1 (PIT 1) gene in Nigerian local and exotic chicken

Résumé

This study was carried out to investigate the genetic diversity of PIT1 gene in Nigerian local and exotic chicken breeds. Genomic DNA was extracted from the blood of Isa brown, Shika brown and Naked neck chickens which was used to amplify the PIT1 gene and later sequenced. Sequences were aligned and analyzed using Mega 6.0 and DNASp. The results revealed that Naked neck had 181 monomorphic sites and the least was observed in Isa brown (34). However, Isa brown had the highest number of polymorphic site (181) and the least was observed in Shika brown. Singleton variable sites also varied across breeds. Number of segregating sites was highest in Isa brown (174). The highest number of haplotypes was observed in Isa brown (11). Highest number of indel sites were observed in Isa brown (46) chickens. The highest estimates of average evolutionary divergence over sequence pairs within chicken breeds was observed in Isa brown (0.766) and the least in Shika brown (0.15). The highest genetic distance is between Isa brown and Naked neck and the least between Naked neck and Shika brown. The result obtained from this study revealed a clearer understanding of the genetic diversity in PIT1 gene across the different breeds. This information can be harnessed for better policies for conservation and breeding programs.