Effect of interaction of haemoglobin genotype with locations on morphometric traits of West African Dwarf goats raised in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

Haemoglobin type, a useful marker for genomic selection, has influenced the adaptability of animals to a particular environment. The effect of the interaction of haemoglobin types with various locations on morphometric traits of West African Dwarf goats in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, was studied. Three hundred and eighty-four goats of both sexes were sampled from three senatorial districts (Eket, Ikot Ekpene and Uyo) of Akwa Ibom State. Morphometric traits measured were body length (BL), height at wither (HW), heart girth (HG), rump height (RH), body depth (BD) and body weight (BWT). Five millilitres of blood samples from each goat were collected through the jugular vein for electrophoretic analysis. The data obtained were subjected to a 2x3 factorial in a completely randomised design. Gene and genotypic frequencies were estimated, and chi chi-square test was used to assess the conformation mode of the goat population to Hardy-Weinberg genetic equilibrium. Two haemoglobin genotypes, HbAA and HbAB, were identified. Genotypic and allelic frequencies for HbAA are higher in all locations than HbAB. BL (50.75±0.52), HW (45.11±0.29), and RH (45.80±0.36) for HbAA were superior to HbAB. However, HbAB was superior to HbAA for TL (11.00±0.29) and NC (33.43±0.82) in the main effect. The interaction of haemoglobin types with locations had a significant influence on all the morphometric traits, with HbAA being superior to HbAB, but both HbAA and HbAB favoured body weight in Ikot Ekpene.