Genetic diversity analysis of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) region in Indian native chicken breeds and pureline chickensusing the LEI0258 microsatellite marker

The chicken major histocompatibility complex (MHC) plays an important role in immune response and is strongly associated with resistance and susceptibility to many diseases. The microsatellite marker LEI0258 is physically located within MHC, between the BG and BF regions and can identify serologically well-defined MHC haplotypes. In the present study, a total of 150 samples from pureline chicken breeds including Indian native chicken breeds Aseel (20), Kadaknath (45), White Leghorn (IWI-20; IWK-23), Dahlem red (DR-20), Broiler (PB1-22) was investigated by using LEI0258 microsatellite marker. Overall 22 differently sized alleles (182-552 bp) were identified in all the five lines. Our results indicate that Indian native chicken breeds Aseel (Na=10) and Kadaknath (Na=11) harbored more alleles compared to those of pureline populations (Na=5-6). Analysis of Hardy-Weinberg’s equilibrium (HWE) revealed that two populations IWI and Kadaknath deviated from the HWE (P<0.001). LEI0258 microsatellite based MHC haplotyping would be useful in selecting birds for breeding programs and also in genetic resource conservation.