Analysis of microsatellite markers in Ongole breed of cattle

Evaluation of genetic variability was carried out in Ongole cattle using 25 microsatellite markers, recommended by FAO. All the screened loci were polymorphic and a total of 97 alleles were observed across the analyzed loci. The mean number of alleles was found to be 3.88 ±0.25 with a range of 2 to 7. The allele size ranged from 94 to 300 bp. The frequency distribution of microsatellite alleles in the breed was from 0.0119 to 0.9375. The estimated expected heterozygosity value was 0.6079 ±0.04 and the PIC was 0.5584 ±0.04. Microsatellite analysis revealed high allele and gene diversity in the investigated cattle and overall mean F IS value (–0.0615) suggested the excess of heterozygosity in the population. In addition, the high information of the polymorphic loci throw light on the scope for maintaining variation in the population and strategies to formulate conservation and further improvement measures.