Genetic diversity among three Mexican local goat populations assessed by microsatellite DNA markers

In this study, the genetic diversity and relationships of three local goat populations from Coahuila, Zacatecas, and Guerrero, Mexico, were analyzed. Nine microsatellites were amplified, and genetic diversity parameters were estimated including: expected heterozygosity (He), observed heterozygosity (Ho), number of alleles per locus (Na), effective number of alleles (Ne), polymorphic information content (PIC), Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE), Wright’s F-statistics (F_IS, F_IT, F_ST), and allele frequencies. An analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) was performed, and the genetic distance between the three goat populations was measured. One hundred and seventy-one alleles were obtained; the highest Na was recorded for ILSTS029 and SPS113 with 28 alleles, while the lowest was for ILSTS005 with only 9 alleles; the highest Ne was for SPS113 and the lowest for ILSTS005; He was between 0.518 (ILSTS005) and 0.910 (SPS113), while Ho was between 0.543 (DRBP1) and 0.746 (SRCRSP5). The highest PIC was 0.928 for marker SPS113, and the lowest was 0.497 for marker ILSTS005. Five markers were in HWE. The F_IS, F_IT, and F_ST values ranged from 0.171 to 0.561, 0.181 to 0.573, and 0.010 to 0.083, respectively, indicating low to moderate genetic differentiation. The greatest genetic distance was found between the goat populations of Coahuila and Zacatecas (0.281), while the smallest was between those of Coahuila and Guerrero (0.162). AMOVA results indicated that 3% was due to variation between populations, 33% to variation between individuals, and 64% to variation within individuals.