http://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/browse/jpsa doi: +*.,+.+/jpsa.**3+*- Copyright,*+*, Japan Poultry Science Association., +,, -. / Boniface B. Kayang, Issaka Youssao, Eiji Inoue, Augustine Naazie, Hideaki Abe, Shin ichi Ito and Miho Inoue-Murayama +0, 1 + + Wildlife Research Center of Kyoto University, Kyoto 0*0 2,*-, Japan Department of Animal Science, College of Agriculture and Consumer Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana - l Ecole Polytechnique d Abomey-Calavi, Departement ÿ des productions animales, BP 0-1 Abomey-Calavi, Benin. Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto 0*0 2/*,, Japan / Agricultural Research Center, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana 0 Kobe Kachoen, Kobe 0/* **.1, Japan 1 Faculty of Applied Biological Sciences, Gifu University, Gifu /*+ ++3-, Japan Characterization of the genetic diversity of indigenous animal populations is a prerequisite for providing needed information for the conservation of useful genotypes against future uncertainties in the face of daunting global challenges such as climate change, emerging diseases, population growth, and rising consumer demands. In this study, a total of,-, helmeted guineafowls ( Numida meleagris) sampled from three populations in Ghana, one population in Benin and two populations in Japan were genotyped across six autosomal microsatellite loci. Three vulturine guineafowls ( Acryllium vulturinum) were included as outgroup. A total of 00 alleles were observed with an average of ++.* alleles per locus. The indigenous West African populations (Ghana and Benin) were more genetically diverse ( Na 3. 2 ; Ho *../1) but less di# erentiated ( FST *. +0, ) compared to the non-indigenous populations in Japan ( Na..,; Ho *.,-0; FST *.-23). The information from this study would be useful for selection and improvement programs necessary for the sustainable exploitation of this agriculturally and commercially important species as a suitable alternative to chicken. Key words: genetic diversity, Ghana, helmeted guineafowl, microsatellite J. Poult. Sci.,.1: +,* +,.,,*+* Introduction mostly in the northern savannah zone where wild and feral populations still exist. Their production, mainly by small- Chicken ( Gallus gallus), Japanese quail ( Coturnix japonica), scale rural farmers, account for about,/ of the entire turkey ( Meleagris gallopavo), helmeted guin- poultry population in that zone, and they have a high eafowl ( Numida meleagris) and ring-necked pheasant cultural value in addition to the central role they play in ( Phasianus colchicus) belonging to the order Galliformes ensuring food security. are agriculturally and commercially important poultry Despite the importance of this species, especially in its species throughout the world. Among these species, the area of origin, little is known about its genetic diversity. helmeted guineafowl is valued for its fine-flavored meat Currently, research work on the genetic variation of poulthat resembles the meat of animals hunted for food. Its try species is becoming increasingly important to characdomestication is believed to have occurred in the southern terize the genetic structure of local populations. This part of the Sahara, particularly in West Africa (Crawford, serves as an important first step to reveal the uniqueness of +33* ), where it is widely distributed in the savannah areas. these populations and to identify valuable genetic re- In spite of its African origin, it is able to thrive in all sources for conservation against future needs. In the face climates and is reared commercially in Europe, America of daunting global challenges such as climate change, and Asia. In Ghana, the helmeted guineafowls thrive emerging diseases, population growth, and rising consumer demands, it is likely that new genotypes would be required Received: October,+,,**3, Accepted: December.,,**3 Released Online Advance Publication: January,/,,*+* in the future. Characterization and conservation of animal genetic resources are thus necessary to ensure future Correspondence: Dr. M. Inoue-Murayama, Wildlife Research Center of Kyoto University, Kyoto 0*0 2,*-, Japan. food security. Such studies are facilitated by the use of (E-mail: mmurayama@wrc.kyoto-u.ac.jp) molecular tools, particularly microsatellite markers.
Kayang et al. : Genetic Diversity of Helmeted Guineafowl 121 Among Galliformes poultry species, however, many an outgroup population. The helmeted guineafowl samgenetic diversity studies have been reported in chicken ples thus obtained could be considered as two broad (Hillel et al.,,**-; Granevitze et al.,,**1; Muchadeyi et groups: the indigenous West African populations comprising al.,,**1; Mwacharo et al.,,**1; Tadano et al.,,**1; Oseimarkers the Ghanaian and Beninois samples ( n +3* ), and the Amponsah et al., in press), for which many microsatellite non-indigenous Japanese populations ( n., ). have been developed. Unfortunately, the helmeted DNA Extraction and Choice of Microsatellite Markers guineafowl genome is the least studied among Galliformes poultry species and to date, no original microsatellite Genomic DNA was extracted from blood or feather samples using the QIAGEN DNeasy Tissue kit (QIAGEN, markers have been developed for this species. To date, Valencia, CA, USA). In the absence of guineafowl-specific attempts to apply markers from other Galliformes poultry microsatellite markers, we chose five autosomal microsatellites species such as chicken and the Japanese quail to the helguineafowl that were originally developed from Japanese meted guineafowl have yielded limited success (Kayang et quail and found to cross-amplify the orthologous regions al.,,**,; Nahashon et al.,,**2). Thus, apart from a study in helmeted guineafowl (Kayang et al.,,***; Kayang et using randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) al.,,**,). In addition, we developed markers based on markers, which showed low genetic variation among glutamine repeat polymorphism in the exons of chicken varieties of guineafowl in India (Sharma et al., +332), no genes. We accomplished this by searching for (CAG)n reports are available on molecular characterization of this species. repeats using the Ensembl Genome Browser (http: //www. ensembl.org/index.html) and then we designed primer- This study forms one of the methods to analyse genetic pairs to flank the repeats. In this way, two chickenvariation in guineafowl. Helmeted guineafowls sampled originated markers, KUC***+ (GenBank Accession No. from three populations in Ghana, one population in Benin, AB /,0,+0) and KUC***, (GenBank Accession No. AB and two populations in Japan were genotyped across six /,0,+1) were successfully developed that could amplify microsatellite loci in order to investigate the genetic diver- the orthologous loci in guineafowl ( KUC denotes Kyoto sity and relationships of populations living in and outside University Chicken). KUC***+ was developed from chicken their native habitat. Such information would provide a Ensemble protein-coding gene ENSGALG******+././ lofoundation for developing sustainable genetic improve- cated on GGA+ and orthologous to human ZFR (Zinc finment and conservation programs aimed at enhancing the growth and reproductive traits, meat quality, as well as ger RNA-binding protein), while KUC***, was developed from chicken Ensemble protein-coding gene ENSGALG disease resistance of this agriculturally and commercially ******+1,2+ ( IPI **/222+1.,) located on GGA+ and orvaluable species. thologous to human KCNA0 (potassium voltage-gated chan- Materials and Methods nel subfamily A member 0). The forward and reverse primers were / -GTGGATCTGGGGTGGTTTGGGA- Sample Collection GGTTG-- and / -AGCAGCAGCAACAGAAACAG- A total of,-, helmeted guineafowl samples were ob- GCAGTGG-- for KUC***+ and / -CCCACTGCTGG- tained from six populations in Ghana, Benin, and Japan. In Ghana, sampling was done in three populations. Two of these, Upper-West Region (Ghana/UWR; n.-) and Northern Region (Ghana/NR; n 3. ), were located in the northern Interior Savannah zone but were separated by a distance of about -** km. They were kept by farmers TGCTGGCCCTT-- and / -GCTGCTGGCCACCATT- GTTGCTGCT-- for KUC ***,, respectively. However, no polymorphism was detected at the KUC***, locus and so this marker was excluded from further analysis. A total of six autosomal microsatellite markers (five from Japanese quail and one from chicken) were, therefore, used in on a free-range basis. The third population was maintained the genetic diversity studies of the guineafowls. at the Agricultural Research Center, University of Ghana, Legon (Ghana/ARC Legon; n,0), located in the southern Coastal Savannah zone of the country. The samples from Benin ( n,1) were obtained from a population maintained at Departement ÿ des productions animales, l Ecole Polytechnique d Abomey-Calavi (Benin). The indigenous populations in Ghana and Benin were not purebred varieties but mixed, with the Pearl (wild-type) variety being predominant. In Japan, non-indigenous samples were collected from a commercial stock of the Pearl variety maintained at JAFRA TRADING CO., LTD., Ibaraki Prefecture (Japan/JAFRA; n -/ ) and a White variety population kept at Kobe Kachoen, Kobe City (Japan/Kobe Kachoen; n 1). In addition, three vulturine Microsatellite Genotyping The six markers were used in multiplex PCR reactions with sets of three primer-pairs employing the QIAGEN Multiplex PCR kit (QIAGEN). PCR was carried out in +* ml reactions containing,* ng of DNA template, *., mm of each primer and + x QIAGEN Multiplex PCR Master Mix. After an initial incubation of 3/ for +/ min, PCR amplification was performed for -* cycles consisting of 3. for -* sec, // or 0* for 3* sec, 1, for 0* sec, followed by a final extension of 0* for -* min. Subsequently, the PCR products were electrophoresed on an ABI -+** DNA Sequencer (Applied Biosystems Division, Foster City, CA, USA) and the sizes of the fragments were estimated based on fluorescently labelled forward ( Acryllium vulturinum) samples obtained from primers (FAM, NED, and HEX) using the GENESCAN Kyoto City Zoo, Kyoto, Japan, were included to serve as and GENOTYPER software (Applied Biosystems).
122 J. Poult. Sci.,.1 (,) Table +. Observed ( Na) and e# ective ( Ne) number of alleles, observed ( Ho) and expected ( He) heterozygosities, and within-population ( FIS), between-population ( FST), and overall population ( FIT) inbreeding coe$ cients across the six guineafowl populations excluding the vulturine guineafowl outgroup (which belongs to a di# erent genus/species) Data Analysis satellite loci. Owing to the dearth of markers for the The total number of observed alleles, allele frequencies, guineafowls and the di$ culty of developing original miaverage number of observed and e# ective alleles per locus, crosatellite markers in the helmeted guineafowl based on observed and expected heterozygosities, and inbreeding the first author s experience, we were limited to using coe$ cients ( FIS) per population were determined using cross-species markers from the Japanese quail and chicken. POPGENE version +.-, software (Yeh and Boyle, +331). The quail-specific markers had been previously tested and Wright s fixation indices ( F IS, F ST, and FIT) (Weir and found to amplify the orthologous regions in the helmeted Cockerham, +32. ) were calculated to quantify the parti- guineafowl (Kayang et al.,,**,). tioning of variance between and within populations. In all, 00 alleles were observed with an average of ++.* To determine the proportion of genetic variability due alleles per locus (Table + ). The mean e# ective number of to population substructuring, pairwise FST values were alleles per locus was however -1.. The observed hetercomputed for all pairs of the six helmeted guineafowl ozygosity of the markers ranged from *. +11 ( KUC***+ ) populations using GENEPOP version -.. software (Ray- to *02/. ( GUJ**/3) with a mean of *.+2., indicating that mond and Rousset, +33/ ). Pairwise Nei s genetic dis- the markers are su$ ciently polymorphic to determine tances were also calculated to estimate genetic relatedness genetic diversity in the helmeted and vulturine guineafowl using POPGENE. To determine phylogenetic relation- populations studied. The lower polymorphism of the first ships, Reynolds genetic distances (Reynolds et al., +32-) chicken-originated marker KUC***+ could be due to the among pairs of the seven populations were computed and fact that it was developed from the exon, which is a a consensus phylogenetic tree of populations with +,*** relatively conserved region. Indeed, the second marker bootstraps over loci was generated using POPULATIONS KUC***, that was similarly developed was monomorphic version +,-*.. software (http: //bioinformatics.org/ when tested in the studied populations and was, therefore, tryphon/populations/). excluded from the analysis. These results a$ rm the usefulness Results and Discussion of this cross-species quail microsatellite panel for genetic diversity studies in the helmeted guineafowl. A total of,-, helmeted guineafowls and three vulturine Across loci, the mean observed and e# ective number of guineafowls were genotyped across six autosomal micro- alleles were higher in the indigenous West African popula- Locus Chromosome Na Ne Ho He FIS FST FIT GUJ***+ CJA,1 2 +4/ *4,** *4-+1 *4*02 *4-31 *4.-2 GUJ**+1 CJA*+ 2-4* *4.2/ *400- *4++. *4--* *4.*0 GUJ**/3 CJA*/ +, 141 *402/ *421- *4+-0 *4,2/ *4-2, GUJ**00 CJA*,,2 14* *40,/ *420* *4+20 *4+1/ *4-,3 GUJ**2. KUC***+ * CJA*, GGA+ 2, +40 +4, *4--0 *4+11 *4-1/ *4+0, *4-.+ *4,-/ *4.3, *4+-- *4-+3 *4*1+ Mean** ++4* 243-41 -4* *4.+2 *4,+/ *4/., *4-** *4*+, *4*3* *4-*+ *4*// *4-*, *4*11 * KUC denotes Kyoto University Chicken. ** The means are given SD for N,N,H, and H, and SE for F,F, and F. a e o e IS ST IT Table,. Mean observed ( Na) and e# ective ( Ne) number of alleles, observed ( Ho) and expected ( He) heterozygosities per population and within-population ( F ), between-population ( F ), and overall population ( F ) inbreeding coe$ cients IS ST IT West African populations Ghana/UWR Ghana/NR Ghana/ARC Legon Benin Japanese populations Japan/JAFRA Japan/Kobe Kachoen Vulturine guineafowl n N SD N SD H SD H SD F SE F SE F SE a e o e IS ST IT +3* 342 240-42 -4, *4./1 *4,+3 *4/.3 *4,21 *4*3. *4*10 *4+0, *4*02 *4*1/ *4*+,.- 04/ -4. -4,,4- *4/.+ *4,0* *4/03 *4,/0 3. 141 143-41 -4. *4.,2 *4,.- *4/+1 *4-*2,0.4- -4+,41,4+ *4-31 *4,3/ *4..+ *4-.*,1.41-4,,41 +40 *4.2, *4+00 *4/-, *4,./.,.4, -43,4. +43 *4,-0 *4,.+ *4.** *4-/, *4,.1 *4*20 *4-23 *4+/* *4+22 *4+., -/ -4/,41,4, +41 *4,-, *4,., *4-/+ *4-0/ 1,4- +42,4* +4. *4,0, *4,3, *4--/ *4-23 - +42 *42 +40 *4/ *4.01 *4..1 *4-.1 *4-+2 *40+/ *4,** *40+/ *4,** *4***
Kayang et al. : Genetic Diversity of Helmeted Guineafowl 123 Fig. +. Neighbor-joining tree showing phylogenetic relationships of guineafowl populations sampled from Ghana, Benin and Japan. Ghana/UWR Upper-West Region, Ghana/NR Northern Region, Ghana/ARC Legon Agricultural Research Center, University of Ghana, Legon, Japan/JAFRA JAFRA TRADING CO., LTD., Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. The consensus tree was generated with +,*** bootstraps over loci but the bootstrap values were all below /* and, therefore, not shown in the diagram. The tree is drawn to scale, with branch lengths indicating the amount of divergence between nodes in the tree. The scale bar represents an amount of evolutionary change corresponding to **/. nucleotide substitutions per site. tions ( 32. and -2. ) than in the non-indigenous Japanese chicken, negligible or absence of population di# erentiation populations (.,. and,.. ), respectively (Table,). Similarly, has been reported for indigenous free-ranging populations the mean observed and expected heterozygosities were in Africa (Muchadeyi et al.,,**1; Osei-Amponsah et al., greater in the West African populations (*../1 and *./.3) in press). than in the Japanese populations (*.,-0 and *..**), re- As shown in Table -, the pairwise Nei s genetic disspectively. Low levels of genetic diversity have been re- tances between the six helmeted guineafowl populations ported for guineafowl varieties outside their area of origin. ranged from *.*10 (Ghana/NR Japan/JAFRA) to *..,1 Based on RAPD markers, Sharma et al. ( +332) observed (Ghana/UWR Japan/Kobe Kachoen). The closest pair a low level of genetic variation within and among Lavender, was thus the Ghana/NR population in Ghana and the Pearl (wild type), and White helmeted guineafowl commercial population in Japan. Similarly, the genic dif- varieties in India and attributed this to a small founder ferentiation ( FST) values were least in the Ghana/UWR population and many years of multiplication without se- Benin pair (*.*/3) but highest in the Japan/JAFRA lective breeding. The helmeted guineafowl stocks in Japan Japan/Kobe Kachoen pair (*.--/). These results are were also constituted from small founder populations and supported by the clustering in the neighbor-joining tree therefore, due to population size, genetic drift, inbreeding where Ghana/NR and Japan/JAFRA is the closest pair and selection, a reduction in genetic diversity occurred. on one branch (Fig. + ). The foundation stock of Japan/ These observations were supported by Wright s fixation JAFRA was originally introduced from a commercial indices, which showed that within-population inbreeding stock in France and it is most probable that the French ( FIS) was greater in the Japanese populations (*.,.1) stock was derived from a West African population. compared to the West African populations (**3.. ) (Table Compared to other Galliformes poultry species, the,). However, the two Japanese populations were clearly helmeted guineafowl genome has received little attention di# erentiated ( FST *.-23) whereas there was little di# erentiation among the four West African populations ( FST and no original markers have been developed for popula- tion genetic studies in this species. Therefore, this is the *. +0, ). These findings probably reflect the free-range first report using cross-species microsatellite markers from management system without artificial selection in the West the Japanese quail and chicken to estimate the genetic African populations as opposed to directed selection in the diversity across diverse populations of the helmeted guin- Japanese populations. Indeed, based on similar studies in eafowl. The results clearly show that the indigenous West
124 J. Poult. Sci.,.1 (,) Table -. Nei s genetic distance (above diagonal) and pairwise F ST (below diagonal) estimates for all loci between seven populations (six Numida meleagris and one Acryllium vulturinum) Ghana/ Ghana/ARC Japan/ Japan/Kobe Vulturine Population Ghana/NR Benin UWR Legon JAFRA Kachoen guineafowl Ghana/UWR Ghana/NR Ghana/ARC Legon Benin Japan/JAFRA Japan/Kobe Kachoen Vulturine guineafowl *4*23 *4+03 *4*3+ *4+-2 *4.,1 +4+2/ *4*0/ *4*13 *4*3. *4*10 *4-,3 +4+03 *4+,2 *4*03 *4+,3 *4+2, *4-13 +4+03 *4*/3 *4*03 *4+*1 *4+.. *4--, +4,// *4+-2 *4*2/ *4,*/ *4+/+ *4--0 +4,03 *4,/0 *4,-+ *4-*1 *4,-/ *4--/ *43++ *4.-* *4.01 *4/., *4.00 *4/11 *4/3- African populations are more genetically diverse but less di# erentiated compared to the non-indigenous populations in Japan. The information from this study would be useful for selection and improvement programs necessary for the sustainable exploitation of this agriculturally and commercially important species (of African origin) as a suitable alternative to chicken (of Asian origin). However, more e# orts need to be directed at developing original guineafowl-specific microsatellite markers to expand the scope of the study in the helmeted guineafowl. Acknowledgments We are thankful to the Ghanaian farmers in the Upper- West and Northern Regions for their cooperation and to Dr. Karikari Agyemang of the Veterinary Services Department of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture in Ghana for facilitating sample collection in the Northern Region. This study was supported financially by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) with a Grant-in-aid for Science Research (#,+-+*+/* to MI-M) and Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. References Crawford RD. Origin and history of poultry species. In: Poultry Breeding and Genetics (Crawford RD ed.). pp. +.+. Else- vier. Amsterdam. +33*. Granevitze Z, Hillel J, Chen GH, Cuc NT, Feldman M, Eding H and Weigend S. Genetic diversity within chicken populations from di# erent continents and management histories. Animal Genetics, -2: /10 /2-.,**1. Hillel J, Groenen MAM, Tixier-Boichard M, Korol AB, David L, Kirzhner VM, Burke T, Barre-Dirie A, Crooijmans RPMA, Elo K, Feldman MW, Freidlin PJ, Mäki-Tanila A, Oortwijn M, Thomson P, Vignal A, Wimmers K and Weigend S. Biodiversity of /, chicken populations assessed by micro- satellite typing of DNA pools. Genetics Selection Evolution, -/: /-- //1.,**-. Kayang BB, Inoue-Murayama M, Hoshi T, Matsuo K, Takahashi H, Minezawa M, Mizutani M and Ito S. Microsatellite loci in Japanese quail and cross-species amplification in chicken and guinea fowl. Genetics Selection Evolution, -.:,--,/-.,**,. Kayang BB, Inoue-Murayama M, Nomura A, Kimura K, Takahashi H, Mizutani M and Ito S. Fifty microsatellite markers for Japanese quail. Journal of Heredity, 3+ : /*, /*/.,***. Muchadeyi FC, Eding H, Wollny CBA, Groeneveld E, Makuza SM, Shamseldin R, Simianer H and Weigend S. Absence of population substructuring in Zimbabwe chicken ecotypes inferred using microsatellite analysis. Animal Genetics, -2: --, --3.,**1. Mwacharo JM, Nomura K, Hanada H, Jianlin H, Hanotte O and Amano T. Genetic relationships among Kenyan and other East African indigenous chickens. Animal Genetics, -2:.2/.3*.,**1. Nahashon SN, Amenyenu A, Harris C and Adefope N. Chicken and quail microsatellite markers reveal polymorphisms in guinea fowl. Journal of Poultry Science,./:,.3,/..,**2. Osei-Amponsah R, Kayang BB, Naazie A, Osei YD, Tixier- Boichard M and Rognon X. Genetic diversity of Forest and Savannah chicken populations of Ghana as estimated by microsatellite markers. Animal Science Journal, in press. Raymond M and Rousset F. GENEPOP (version +,. ): population genetics software for exact tests and ecumenicism. The Journal of Heredity, 20 :,.2,.3. +33/. Reynolds J, Weir BS and Cockerham CC. Estimation of the coancestry coe$ cient: basis for a short-term genetic distance. Genetics, +*/ : 101 113. +32-. Sharma D, Rao KB, Singh HP and Totey SM. Randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) for evaluating genetic relationships among varieties of guinea fowl. Genetic Anal- ysis: Biomolecular Engineering, +. : +,/ +,2. +332. Tadano R, Sekino M, Nishibori M and Tsudzuki M. Microsatellite marker analysis for the genetic relationships among Japanese long-tailed chicken breeds. Poultry Science, 20:.0*.03.,**1. Weir BS and Cockerham CC. Estimating F-statistics for the analysis of population structure. Evolution, -2: +-/2 +-1*. +32.. Yeh FC and Boyle TJB. Population genetic analysis of codominant and dominant markers and quantitative traits. Belgian Journal of Botany, +,3 : +/1. +331.