Evaluation of Genetic Variation and Phylogenetic Relationship among North Indian Cattle Breeds

In the present study, genetic analyses of diversity and differentiation were performed on four breeds of Indian zebu cattle (Bos indicus). In total, 181 animals belonging to Ponwar, Kherigarh, Gangatiri and Kenkatha breeds were genotyped for 20 cattle specific microsatellite markers. Mean number of alleles observed per locus (MNA) varied between 5.75 (Kenkatha) to 6.05 (Kherigarh). The observed and expected heterozygosity for the breeds varied from 0.48 (Gangatiri) to 0.58 (Kherigarh) and 0.65 (Kenkatha) to 0.70 (Kherigarh), respectively. $F_{IS}$ estimates of all the breeds indicated significant deficit of heterozygotes being 28.8%, 25.9%, 17.7% and 17.7% for Gangatiri, Ponwar, Kherigarh and Kenkatha, respectively. The $F_{ST}$ estimates demonstrated that 10.6% was the average genetic differentiation among the breeds. Nei's genetic distance DA and Cavalli- Sforza and Edwards Chord distance ($D_C$) and the phylogenetic tree constructed from these reflected the close genetic relationship of Gangatiri and Kenkatha, whereas Ponwar appears to be more distant.