Polymorphism of Ghrelin Genes in three Feather Strains of Nigerian Indigenous Chickens Could Improve the Fitness of Global Chicken

Research Article

Abstract

Background: The Nigerian native chicken constitutes the major component of African chicken population. Its ghrelin gene diversity could certainly be associated with traits that can enhance the poultry output necessary for Africa predicted enormous potential for agriculture and support for global food security by 2050. However there is porous information on single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) at gene loci of different feather types of chickens.
Methods: 127 blood samples were randomly collected from Nigerian local chicken markets located at 4 zones. Blood sample (0.5 ml) was collected from the wing vein for DNA extraction later. Two pairs of primers (GHRL1 and GHRL2) were used for the study. The SNPs and phylogeny were determined using MEGA software.
Results: The sequence results showed 15 SNPs. The study on nucleotide diversity showed that Nigerian chicken strains varied from 0.4053 in NN to 0.6042 in NF at ghrelin loci. The phylogeny study revealed that the NN was relatively distant from the other two populations, authenticates the normal strain as the wild type chicken and indicates that GHRL 1 gene may have more fitness for tropical climate.
Conclusion: Thus SNPs at ghrelin locus may enhance the fitness traits of global chicken.