Phenotypic variability and population structure analysis of Tanzanian free-range local chickens
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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Open Access
Phenotypic variability and population structure analysis of Tanzanian free-range local chickens James R. Mushi1, Gaspar H. Chiwanga1, Esinam N. Amuzu-Aweh2, Muhammed Walugembe3, Robert A. Max1, Susan J. Lamont3, Terra R. Kelly4, Esther L. Mollel1, Peter L. Msoffe1, Jack Dekkers3, Rodrigo Gallardo4, Huaijun Zhou5 and Amandus P. Muhairwa1*
Abstract Background: Free-range local chickens (FRLC) farming is an important activity in Tanzania, however, they have not been well-characterized. This study aimed to phenotypically characterize three Tanzanian FRLCs and to determine their population structure. A total of 389 mature breeder chickens (324 females and 65 males) from three popular Tanzanian FRLC ecotypes (Kuchi, Morogoro-medium and Ching’wekwe) were used for the phenotypic characterization. Progenies of these chickens were utilized to assess population structure. The ecotypes were collected from four geographical zones across Tanzania: Lake, Central, Northern and Coastal zones. Body weights and linear measurements were obtained from the mature breeders, including body, neck, shanks, wingspan, chest girth, and shank girth. Descriptive statistics were utilized to characterize the chickens. Correlations between the linear measurements and differences among the means of measured linear traits between ecotypes and between sexes were assessed. A total of 1399 progeny chicks were genotyped using a chicken 600 K high density single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) panel for determination of population structure. Results: The means for most traits were significantly higher in Kuchi relative to Ching’wekwe and Morogoromedium. However, shank length and shank girth were similar between Kuchi and Morogoro-medium females. All traits were correlated with the exception of shank girth in Morogoro-medium. Admixture analyses revealed that Morogoro-medium and Ching’wekwe clustered together as one population, separate from Kuchi. Conclusions: Phenotypic traits could be used to characterize FRLCs, however, there were variations in traits among individuals within ecotypes; therefore, complementary genomic methods should be considered to improve the characterization for selective breeding. Keywords: Free-range local chickens, Phenotypic diversity, Genetic diversity, Population structure
* Correspondence: [email protected] 1 Department of Veterinary Medicine and Public Health, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania Full list of author information is available at the end of the article © The Author(s). 2020 Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a
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