Understanding the Genetic Variation and Structure of the Rustipollos Chicken Synthetic Population Locally Adapted to Paraguay: Opportunities for a Sustainable Chicken Productivity
Liz Aurora Castro Rojas,
Simone Ceccobelli,
Elvio Gayozo,
Natalia Méndez Morán,
Sara Marchegiani,
Amparo Martínez Martínez,
María Esperanza Camacho Vallejo,
Paula Alexandra Toalombo Vargas,
Débora Araújo de Carvalho,
Agueda Laura Pons Barro,
Jorge Quirõz,
José Fernández Barriocanal,
Miguel Torres Ñumbay,
Emiliano Lasagna
Affiliations
Liz Aurora Castro Rojas
Departamento de Genética y Zootecnia, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad Nacional de Asunción, San Lorenzo 2160, Paraguay
Simone Ceccobelli
Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Via Brecce Bianche 10, 60131 Ancona, Italy
Elvio Gayozo
Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Asunción, San Lorenzo 2160, Paraguay
Natalia Méndez Morán
Departamento de Recursos Faunísticos y Medio Natural, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad Nacional de Asunción, San Lorenzo 2160, Paraguay
Sara Marchegiani
Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Via Brecce Bianche 10, 60131 Ancona, Italy
Amparo Martínez Martínez
Department of Genetics, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, University of Córdoba, 14071 Córdoba, Spain
María Esperanza Camacho Vallejo
Andalusian Institute of Agricultural and Fisheries Research and Training (IFAPA), Alameda del Obispo, 14004 Córdoba, Spain
Paula Alexandra Toalombo Vargas
Escuela Superior Politécnica de Chimborazo, Panamericana Sur Km 1 ½, Riobamba EC060155, Ecuador
Débora Araújo de Carvalho
Department of Animal Science, Federal University of Piauí (UFPI), Ministro Petrônio Portella University Campus, Teresina 64049-550, Brazil
Agueda Laura Pons Barro
Instituto de Investigación y Formación Agroalimentaria y Pesquera de las Illes Balears (IRFAP), Conselleria d’Agricultura, Pesca i Alimentació, Majorca, Govern Illes Balears, 07009 Palma, Spain
Jorge Quirõz
Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales Agrícolas y Pecuarias, Mexico City 04010, Mexico
José Fernández Barriocanal
Cátedra de Producción de Aves, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad Nacional de Asunción, San Lorenzo 2160, Paraguay
Miguel Torres Ñumbay
Departamento de Ciencias Fisiológicas, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad Nacional de Asunción, San Lorenzo 2160, Paraguay
Emiliano Lasagna
Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Perugia, Borgo XX Giugno 74, 06121 Perugia, Italy
The production of backyard chickens is an activity of great importance in the economy of rural families in Paraguay. The Rustipollos population was created through directed crosses between a commercial meat line and a local population belonging to non-specific breeds but phenotypically assimilated to Creole breeds. The aim of this study was to evaluate the genetic diversity, relationship, and structure of Rustipollos using 29 microsatellite markers. Analysis was performed on 50 Rustipollos animals and 926 other individuals as reference breeds/populations from Europe, Africa, South, and North America. A total of 318 alleles were detected, with a mean of 10.97 per locus. The polymorphic information content indicated that 80% of all loci were highly to moderately informative. Only two breeds/populations showed loci that did not deviate from the Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium. The results of genetic diversity indexes suggested moderate levels of genetic variability in Rustipollos population and low inbreeding level. The genetic differentiation index indicates a high genetic differentiation between populations. The results of the Neighbor-Net tree and STRUCTURE analyses indicate the existence of distinct gene pools, with some genetic relationships between Rustipollos, the commercial chicken strain, and south Spanish breeds. The Discriminant Analysis of Principal Components confirmed the observed genetic distances between breeds/populations. The results will be useful for sustainable use and official recognition of this population.