Parentage testing, genetic diversity and population structure of homing pigeons (Columba livia)

<b>Homing pigeon hobbyists and enthusiasts can be found all over the world. This breed of pigeon is famous for its outstanding homing capability, speed, and ability to train in various types of competitions. This study was designed to examine the suitability of several microsatellite markers for testing the parentage of pigeons and to use them to determine their genetic diversity and population structure. A total of 398 samples of homing pigeon DNA were used. Parentage analysis parameters indicated that these markers can be used to supplement the existing core panel recommended by the International Society for Animal Genetics (ISAG). The genetic diversity (Ho = 0.581; He = 0.626) was similar to that obtained in other studies conducted on homing pigeons. Bayesian clustering revealed that the most likely split into genetic clusters occurs at K = 5, while one main group was observed in Principal Coordinates Analysis. The results confirm evident selection pressure in this breed towards improving on phenotypic traits which are probably associated with the predisposition to flight.</b>