ASSESSMENT OF GENETIC DIVERSITY IN THE POPULATION OF CHAROLAIS CATTLE OF UKRAINIAN SELECTION USING MICROSATELLITE MARKERS

The article presents the results of a study of the genetic-population structure in a herd of beef-type Charolais breed cows of Ukrainian selection (SEEF “Hontarivka”, Kharkiv region). Genetic variation analysis in the experimental group of animals was performed using 10 microsatellite loci recommended by FAO-ISAG: ETH225, BM2113, ETH3, BM1818, BM1824, ILSTS006, INRA023, TAGLA053, TAGLA122, ETH10. The amplification products were separated in native polyacrylamide gels. All the loci studied were polymorphic. The number of detected alleles per locus ranged from 2 (ETH10) to 10 (TGLA053) (an average of 5 alleles per locus), the size of which ranged from 117 bp (ETH3) to 307 bp (ILSTS006). The vast majority of the studied loci belong to informative and valuable markers (PIC > 0.5). The most polymorphic loci were TGLA053 (PIC =0.81) and INRA023 (PIC =0.72). The main population and genetic parameters for the studied loci are calculated. The highest values of heterozygosity (He) and effective allele count (ne) were inherent in the loci TGLA053 (He =0.82, ne =5.7) and INRA023 (He =0.73, ne =3.8). The minimum values of observed heterozygosity are set for loci ETH10 (Ho =0.21) and TGLA122 (Ho =0.44). Most microsatellite loci are characterized by an equilibrium state between actual and expected genotype frequency indicators, and a likely deviation in the form of heterozygote deficiency was established only for the TGLA122 locus (Fis = 0.29; p < 0.05). Changes in the genetic structure of the experimental population of Charolais cattle in comparison with data from previous years and populations from other regions of the world are analyzed. These results indicate a significant narrowing of genetic variability in the domestic Charolais population. This can have further negative consequences and requires replenishment of allelic diversity and control of genetic processes in breeding work using DNA markers.