Testing the breeding strategy of Hungarian Bronze turkey strains for maintaining genetic diversity with microsatellites
Abstract. The aim of the study was to provide information on the genetic variability of the Hungarian Bronze turkey gene reserve population and its difference from the Broad-breasted turkey, and offer guidance and proposals for its future conservation strategies. Altogether, 239 Hungarian Bronze turkeys from 10 strains and 13 Broad-breasted turkeys as a control population were genotyped for 15 microsatellites. All loci were polymorphic with the average number of alleles per locus 3.20±1.146 in the Hungarian Bronze turkey. The mean expected (Hexp) and observed heterozygosity (Hobs) were not different (0.392 and 0.376, respectively) in the overall population, and similar values were obtained for hens and bucks and among hen strains. Inbreeding coefficient (FIS) and Shannon index (I) indicated that there was low inbreeding within hens and bucks. Our results confirm that the genetic diversity in the Hungarian Bronze turkey population has been preserved by the rotational mating system. Differences between the Hungarian Bronze turkey and the Broad-breasted turkey populations were determined. Nei’s unbiased values clearly indicated that the two populations are highly genetically differentiated.
