Molecular Characterization of Hill Cattle of Jammu Using Microsatellite Markers

Aims: The Hill cattle are hardy and withstand a wide range of climatic conditions of the hilly terrain. They are resistant to many diseases, survive on low inputs and play significant role in contributing to the local economy. The present study was under taken for molecular characterization of hill cattle of Jammu using microsatellite markers. Place and Duration of Study: Division of Animal Genetics and Breeding, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, R.S.Pura, Jammu, between August 2022 and February 2025. Methodology: Ten (10) ml blood was collected from jugular vein of 50 unrelated cattle. DNA was extracted from the samples. Ten (10) FAO recommended microsatellite markers were selected. Amplification and genotyping of individual samples after running on 10% urea PAGE were done. Data was analyzed by using PopGene software (1.32). Results: A total of 63 alleles across 10 different microsatellite were observed with mean number of loci as 6.300 ± 1.1595. Significant (P<0.01) Chi-square (χ2) values showed deviations from Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium (HWE). The mean na, ne, I (Shannon's Information index) obtained were 6.3000, 4.3529 and 1.5850. Polymorphic information Content (PIC) value ranged from highest in HEL009 (0.837) and the lowest for BM1818 (0.642). Overall inbreeding coefficient was -0.00187. The observed heterozygosity was highest 0.9333 for HEL001 and lowest 0.4737 for ETH010. Mean expected heterozygosity was 0.7667 ± 0.0493. The average Nei’s value for the study was 0.7611 ±0.0488. In the Ewens-Watterson Test for neutrality of microsatellite loci the mean value was ranged from 0.3265±0.0142 (HEL005) to 0.5120±0.0276 (ETH225) based on 1000 simulations in Hill cattle population. Smouse’s multilocus analysis showed non-significant (p>0.05) chi-square values for average correlation (0.2382) and highly significant WHD values. Conclusion: From the present study it can be concluded that there is substantial genetic diversity in Hill cattle population of Jammu and it is necessary to maintain the variation for effective breeding programmes and conservation.