广东省地方鸡线粒体遗传多样性与母系起源

系统评估地方鸡的遗传变异水平并追溯其母系起源, 可为保护利用优质家禽种质资源库提供科学依据。本研究测定了广东省和邻省共12个地方鸡品种的线粒体DNA D-loop序列, 分析品种间的遗传距离与系统关系, 并构建单倍型系统发生树和中介网络图。360份样品共检测到60个突变位点, 均为转换。定义了85种单倍型, 归属于单倍型类群A、B、C和E, 在12个鸡品种中均有分布, 其中B是优势单倍型类群(187个, 51.94%), E次之(76个, 21.11%)。B02 和C01是优势单倍型(85个, 23.61%; 48个, 13.33%), 为12个鸡品种共有; E03位居第三(35个, 9.72%), 杏花鸡、黄郎鸡和宁都三黄鸡未见此单倍型。杏花鸡集中分布在单倍型类群B, 惠阳胡须鸡和中山沙栏鸡则主要分布在单倍型类群E; 怀乡鸡的单倍型数量最多, 中山沙栏鸡的最少。广东地方鸡品种间遗传距离为0.012-0.015, 单倍型多样性0.805 ± 0.047至0.949 ± 0.026, 核苷酸多样性0.0102 ± 0.0017至0.0138 ± 0.0009。邻接树和中介网络图将85种单倍型划分为进化枝A、B、C和E, 广东省与邻省地方鸡单倍型的地理分布模式相似。中性检验显示广东地方鸡未经历明显的群体历史扩张。结果表明广东地方鸡处于较好的保护状态, 遗传多样性水平较高, 品种的形成受到邻省和北方家鸡的影响, 东南亚红原鸡对广东地方鸡也有重要的遗传贡献。     

基于COI和ND5序列的中国南部唇鱼骨和间鱼骨群体遗传结构

唇鱼骨和间鱼骨均为分布较广的初级淡水鱼类,是理想的亲缘地理研究材料;且两者形态特征较为相似,不易鉴别,故两者的分布记述和物种有效性存在争议.为了解我国南部唇鱼骨和间鱼骨的群体遗传结构并探讨两者的物种有效性,本研究对8条水系的唇鱼骨和9条水系的间鱼骨共130尾个体的COI和ND5基因序列片段进行了测定,并对这两个基因的组合序列(2151 bp)进行了分析.结果表明: 在130尾个体的COI和ND5基因组合序列中,共有196个核苷酸变异位点,共检测出50个单倍型,单倍型多样性为0.964,核苷酸多样性为0.019,遗传多样性较高.基于COI和ND5基因组合序列构建的 NJ 树显示,所有种群可分为两支,支系Ⅰ包含了韩江和九龙江的全部单倍型以及瓯江的部分单倍型,余下的单倍型组成了支系Ⅱ.两支系间的遗传距离为0.036,而唇鱼骨与间鱼骨之间的遗传距离为0.027.单倍型网络图表明,韩江、九龙江种群和其他水系种群分化较大;漠阳江种群由海南岛种群扩散而来;海南岛各种群及漠阳江种群的单倍型分支与珠江水系单倍型的分支之间的亲缘关系较近,与长江水系单倍型分支之间的亲缘关系则较远;湘江、桂江和柳江之间的亲缘关系较近.AMOVA分析结果显示,地理区之间的变异约占71.2%,地理区内种群间变异约占16.6%,种群内的变异占12.2%,表明其遗传分化主要来自地理区之间.错配分析及中性检验结果显示,全部种群、唇鱼骨种群、间鱼骨种群、支系Ⅰ和支系Ⅱ在历史上均没有发生过明显的扩张.     

基于COI和ND5序列的中国南部唇鱼骨和间鱼骨群体遗传结构

唇鱼骨和间鱼骨均为分布较广的初级淡水鱼类,是理想的亲缘地理研究材料;且两者形态特征较为相似,不易鉴别,故两者的分布记述和物种有效性存在争议.为了解我国南部唇鱼骨和间鱼骨的群体遗传结构并探讨两者的物种有效性,本研究对8条水系的唇鱼骨和9条水系的间鱼骨共130尾个体的COI和ND5基因序列片段进行了测定,并对这两个基因的组合序列(2151 bp)进行了分析.结果表明: 在130尾个体的COI和ND5基因组合序列中,共有196个核苷酸变异位点,共检测出50个单倍型,单倍型多样性为0.964,核苷酸多样性为0.019,遗传多样性较高.基于COI和ND5基因组合序列构建的 NJ 树显示,所有种群可分为两支,支系Ⅰ包含了韩江和九龙江的全部单倍型以及瓯江的部分单倍型,余下的单倍型组成了支系Ⅱ.两支系间的遗传距离为0.036,而唇鱼骨与间鱼骨之间的遗传距离为0.027.单倍型网络图表明,韩江、九龙江种群和其他水系种群分化较大;漠阳江种群由海南岛种群扩散而来;海南岛各种群及漠阳江种群的单倍型分支与珠江水系单倍型的分支之间的亲缘关系较近,与长江水系单倍型分支之间的亲缘关系则较远;湘江、桂江和柳江之间的亲缘关系较近.AMOVA分析结果显示,地理区之间的变异约占71.2%,地理区内种群间变异约占16.6%,种群内的变异占12.2%,表明其遗传分化主要来自地理区之间.错配分析及中性检验结果显示,全部种群、唇鱼骨种群、间鱼骨种群、支系Ⅰ和支系Ⅱ在历史上均没有发生过明显的扩张.     

基于cpDNA非编码序列的北沙柳遗传多样性分析

为揭示北沙柳(Salix psammophila)的遗传多样性、遗传结构及分化特征,利用叶绿体非编码区序列(trnL-trnF和trnD-trnT)对分布于毛乌素沙地和库布齐沙漠的16个北沙柳居群(339个个体)进行了遗传研究,为北沙柳种子资源库遗传管理、遗传改良、遗传育种及品种选育提供理论依据。结果表明:(1)经trnL-trnF和trnD-trnT片段联合比对获得了1811 bp序列,共有12个核苷酸变异位点(8个简约信息位点,4个变异位点),得到16个单倍型。(2)单倍型多样性指数(Hd)为0.737,核苷酸多样性指数(π)为0.00107;且单倍型H3的分布在所有居群中位于单倍型网络图中心,其余单倍型随机分布于各个居群。(3)AMOVA分析表明,北沙柳cpDNA的变异主要来源于居群内(91.16%),居群间遗传分化程度中等(FST=0.08837),各居群间的基因交流非常频繁(Nm=2.58);遗传分化系数NST(0.085)显著大于GST(0.056,0.01相似文献   

中国东北地区远东鼩鼱遗传多样性与遗传结构

对中国东北地区3个种群(大兴安岭、小兴安岭和长白山山脉)的远东鼩鼱(77个样本)Cyt b基因全序列进行分析,共获得64个单倍型。整体单倍型多态性为0.9920,核苷酸多态性为0.0105,表明该地区远东鼩鼱具有较高遗传多样性,且长白山山脉远东鼩鼱种群遗传多样性明显高于大兴安岭和小兴安岭种群。F-统计量、遗传相似系数和遗传距离分析结果均显示,种群间和采样地间的遗传距离与地理距离基本相符。方差分析显示,种群间的变异占总变异的33.4%,种群内的采样地间变异占总变异的10.2%,采样点内部变异占总变异的56.4%。种群历史分析显示,东北地区远东鼩鼱未经历过数量扩张。从GenBank下载了欧亚其他地区远东鼩鼱序列进行遗传结构研究。远东鼩鼱系统发生树分化为2大分支:一大支主要由大兴安岭和小兴安岭种群构成,两种群具有一定分化;另一大支又分为两个分支。中介网络图显示,远东鼩鼱具有3个谱系:一个谱系主要由大兴安岭和小兴安岭的单倍型样本构成,还包括长白山山脉的4个单倍型样本;另一谱系包括来自于中国东北地区3个种群的个别单倍型,还包括俄罗斯贝加尔湖单倍型和芬兰单倍型;最后一个谱系完全是由长白山山脉单倍型构成。遗传多样性、系统发生树和中介网络图结果均表明,长白山山脉为远东鼩鼱末次冰期避难所。     

中国红原鸡和泰国红原鸡遗传多样性分析

利用29个微卫星DNA标记对来自中国的红原鸡Gallus gallus spadiceus亚种和来自泰国的红原鸡Gallus gallus gallus亚种进行遗传多样性分析, 评估亚种内的遗传变异和亚种间的遗传分化, 结果表明: 共检测到168个等位基因, 每个位点的等位基因数从2到13不等, 所有位点平均的期望杂合度和PIC值分别为0.5780和0.53。中国和泰国红原鸡29个微卫星位点平均有效等位基因数分别为3.79和4.79, 平均基因杂合度为0.5379和0.6385, 两个红原鸡亚种均表现出较高的群体杂合度和丰富的遗传多样性。群体分化系数为19.4%(P<0.01), 两个红原鸡亚种间的Reynolds’遗传距离和Nm值分别为0.157和1.040。由此可见, Gallus gallus spadiceus亚种和Gallus gallus gallus亚种群体具有不同的群体遗传结构, 群体之间存在明显的遗传分化, 并不能将其认定为是同一亚种, 这也为中国家鸡具有独立的起源提供了一定的佐证。     

基于ITS序列的灵芝遗传多样性与群体遗传分化研究

本研究基于ITS序列对中国8个不同地理群体的168份灵芝样本的分子变异、遗传多样性、群体遗传分化程度进行了分析。结果表明：168个样品中共检测到39个单倍型（H1-H39）,表现出较低的遗传多样性水平（H_d=0.867±0.018,P_i=0.00304±0.00024）,各群体的遗传多样性水平相差不大;TCS单倍型网络图和基于ML、NJ法构建的单倍型系统发育树显示,各地理群体的遗传距离与地理距离之间没有形成对应关系,二者没有明显的相关性;AMOVA分析结果显示不同地理群体间的遗传变异占4.33%,群体内的变异占95.67%,遗传分化主要来自于群体内部。总体和各地理群体的中性检验结果显示,群体扩张遵循中性进化,群体大小保持相对稳定。整体的遗传分化指数F_st为0.04331,基因流N_m为2.99,表明各地理群体间存在频繁的基因交流,群体遗传分化较小。推测原因可能为种群扩张历史较短,分布范围较窄,造成遗传多样性偏低,各群体间遗传分化不大。     

长江中下游湖泊短颌鲚线粒体控制区遗传多样性分析

为探明长江中下游不同湖泊中短颌鲚(Coilia brachygnathus)遗传多样性水平和遗传分化程度,以洞庭湖、长湖、巢湖3个地理群体作为研究对象,采用线粒体控制区序列为分子标记,分别应用软件Dna SP 5.0、Arlequin3.1.1、MEGA5.0和Network 5.1进行了遗传参数统计和单倍型间分子变异分析(AMOVA),构建邻接系统树及单倍型网络图。对长江中下游短颌鲚野生群体的遗传多样性和遗传结构进行分析。结果显示,用来分析的1 236 bp D-loop区序列中共90个变异位点,54个简约信息位点。长江中下游3个地理群体中共发现58个单倍型,单倍型多样性(h)范围0.949~0.982,核苷酸多样性范围0.004 99~0.006 21,说明长江中下游3个湖泊短颌鲚地理群体具有较高的遗传多样性水平。3个短颌鲚地理群体遗传分化指数(Fst)为0.265 95,呈现出中等程度的分化水平,主要表现在巢湖群体与其他群体之间处于中等程度分化水平。依据遗传距离构建系统发育树及单倍型网络图也出现相类似结果。     

若尔盖湿地青海沙蜥红原亚种线粒体ND4-tRNAleu基因的序列变异和遗传多样性

研究了青海沙蜥红原亚种(Phrynocephalus vlangalii hongyuanensis)分布于四川若尔盖辖曼(XM)、红原(HY)和甘肃玛曲(MQ)这3个地理单元7个居群的ND4-tRNAleu基因的序列变异和遗传多样性。72个序列比对得到785bp的片断,含变异位点7个,定义了9种单倍型。结果显示7个居群总的核苷酸多样性较低(0.00231±0.00016),单倍型多样性较高(0.806±0.024);就单个居群而言,MQa、MQb、XMb的遗传多样性低,XMc相对较高。各居群间的Kimura双参数遗传距离小(0.001—0.005),最大遗传距离出现在MQa和XMa之间,XM单元各居群之间遗传距离最小。但分子变异分析(AMOVA)显示3个单元间出现了显著差异(P<0.01),遗传变异主要存在于地理单元间,占62.61%。除MQ单元形成一支,单倍型网络图没有显示出单倍型和地理位置的对应关系,XM各居群以及HY混杂在一起。XM单元单倍型的不配对分布(Mismatch distribution)为明显左移的单峰,同时Fu’sFstest得到负值(Fs=-2.21937),这都暗示XM单元可能经历了近期种群扩张,这是其单倍型多样性较高和核苷酸多样性较低的原因。MQ单元遗传多样性低而与其他单元显著分化,推测与黄河在若尔盖玛曲之间贯通有关。近期沼泽的形成对XMb的隔离时间短,使得其遗传多样性低但还不足以形成大的遗传差异。     

泛希姬蝽不同地理种群的遗传多样性和遗传分化

泛希姬蝽Himacerus apterus(Fabricius)是半翅目姬蝽科中重要的天敌种类,本文旨在分析泛希姬蝽不同地理种群的遗传多样性和遗传分化情况。利用COI作为标记基因,使用DnaSP、Arlequin、MEGA等软件分析了中国4个省12个种群33个体的单倍型多样性、遗传结构分化、系统发育等。共发现19个单倍型,所有单倍型中仅H1为共享单倍型,为宁夏和陕西共有,且出现频率最高。总体单倍型多样性指数Hd=0.913,核苷酸多样性指数π=0.006,平均核苷酸差异数k=4.083。Tajima's D=-0.853,P>0.100,表明泛希姬蝽未经过种群扩张。AMOVA分析表明种群内的分子变异大于种群间分子变异,变异比例分别为45.393%和36.594%,遗传分化指数均大于0.250,差异水平极显著。泛希姬蝽不同地理种群遗传多样性较高,宁夏与内蒙古、山西、陕西省分组间存在极度的遗传分化。种群间遗传距离和地理距离无相关性,表明地理距离不是影响种群间遗传距离的重要因素。通过比较4个省采集点的环境特点,认为地区间基因流受限和气温、猎物的差异可能是影响遗传分化的重要因素。     

East Asian contributions to Dutch traditional and western commercial chickens inferred from mtDNA analysis

Understanding the complex origin of domesticated populations is of vital importance for understanding, preserving and exploiting breed genetic diversity. Here, we aim to assess Asian contributions to European traditional breeds and western commercial chickens for mitochondrial genetic diversity. To this end, a 365‐bp fragment of the chicken mtDNA D‐loop region of 16 Dutch fancy breeds (113 individuals) was surveyed, comprising almost the entire breed diversity of The Netherlands. We also sequenced the same fragment for 160 commercial birds representing all important commercial types from multiple commercial companies that together represent more than 50% of the worldwide commercial value. We identified 20 different haplotypes. The haplotypes clustered into five clades. The commonest clade (E‐clade) supposedly originates from the Indian subcontinent. In addition, both in commercial chicken and Dutch fancy breeds, many haplotypes were found with a clear East Asian origin. However, the erratic occurrence of many different East Asian mitochondrial clades indicates that there were many independent instances where breeders used imported exotic chickens for enhancing local breeds. Nucleotide diversity and haplotype diversity analyses showed the influence of the introgression of East Asian chicken on genetic diversity. All populations that had haplotypes of multiple origin displayed high inferred diversity, as opposed to most populations that had only a single mitochondrial haplotype signature. Most fancy breeds were found to have a much lower within‐population diversity compared to broilers and layers, although this is not the case for mitochondrial estimates in fancy breeds that have multiple origin haplotypes.     

Evaluation of genetic diversity in Chinese indigenous chicken breeds using microsatellite markers

China is rich in chicken genetic resources, and many indigenous breeds can be found throughout the country. Due to poor productive ability, some of them are threatened by the commercial varieties from domestic and foreign breeding companies. In a large-scale investigation into the current status of Chinese poultry genetic resources, 78 indigenous chicken breeds were surveyed and their blood samples collected. The genomes of these chickens were screened using microsatellite analysis. A total of 2740 individuals were genotyped for 27 microsatellite markers on 13 chromosomes. The number of alleles of the 27 markers ranged from 6 to 51 per locus with a mean of 18.74. Heterozygosity (H) values of the 78 chicken breeds were all more than 0.5. The average H value (0.622) and polymorphism information content (PIC, 0.573) of these breeds suggested that the Chinese indigenous chickens possessed more genetic diversity than that reported in many other countries. The fixation coefficients of subpopulations within the total population (F _ST) for the 27 loci varied from 0.065 (LEI0166) to 0.209 (MCW0078), with a mean of 0.106. For all detected microsatellite loci, only one (LEI0194) deviated from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) across all the populations. As genetic drift or non-random mating can occur in small populations, breeds kept on conservation farms such as Langshan chicken generally had lower H values, while those kept on large populations within conservation regions possessed higher polymorphisms. The high genetic diversity in Chinese indigenous breeds is in agreement with great phenotypic variation of these breeds. Using Nei’s genetic distance and the Neighbor-Joining method, the indigenous Chinese chickens were classified into six categories that were generally consistent with their geographic distributions. The molecular information of genetic diversity will play an important role in conservation, supervision, and utilization of the chicken resources.     

Evaluation of genetic diversity in Chinese indigenous chicken breeds using microsatellite markers

China is regarded as one of the domestication cen-ters for chickens and archaeological studies provided evidence of chicken domestication in northern Chinaas early as 6000 BC[1]. At present, China has the larg-est chicken population in the world, represen…     

Origin and domestication history of Peking ducks deltermined through microsatellite and mitochondrial marker analysis

In order to elucidate the domestication history of Peking ducks, 190 blood samples from six Chinese indigenous duck breeds were collected with186 individualsgenotyped by 15 microsatellite markers. Both the F_ST and Nei’s standard genetic distances (D_s) from the microsatellite data indicated high genetic differentiation between Peking duck and other Chinese indigenous breeds. The haplotype network with mtDNA data showed that most of the Peking duck haplotypes were distinctly different from those of other domestic breeds. Although the H01 haplotype was shared by all domesticated duck breeds, Peking ducks displayed 12 specific domestic duck haplotypes, including four similar haplotypes H02, H04, H08 and H22, that formed a single haplogroup (A). Both H02 and H22 haplotypes were also shared by mallard and Peking ducks, indicating that Peking ducks originated from wild mallard ducks.     

Mitochondrial DNA-based analysis of genetic variation and relatedness among Sri Lankan indigenous chickens and the Ceylon junglefowl (Gallus lafayetti)

Indigenous chickens (IC) in developing countries provide a useful resource to detect novel genes in mitochondrial and nuclear genomes. Here, we investigated the level of genetic diversity in IC from five distinct regions of Sri Lanka using a PCR-based resequencing method. In addition, we investigated the relatedness of IC to different species of junglefowls including Ceylon (CJF; Gallus lafayetti ), a subspecies that is endemic to Sri Lanka, green ( Gallus varius ), grey ( Gallus sonneratii ) and red ( Gallus gallus ) junglefowls. A total of 140 birds including eight CJF were used to screen the control region of the mitochondrial DNA sequence for single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and other variants. We detected and validated 44 SNPs, which formed 42 haplotypes and six haplogroups in IC. The SNPs observed in the CJF were distinct and the D-loop appeared to be missing a 62-bp segment found in IC and the red junglefowl. Among the six haplogroups of IC, only one was region-specific. Estimates of haplotype and nucleotide diversities ranged from 0.901 to 0.965 and from 0.011 to 0.013 respectively, and genetic divergence was generally low. Further, variation among individuals within regions accounted for 92% of the total molecular variation among birds. The Sri Lankan IC were more closely related to red and grey junglefowls than to CJF, indicating multiple origins. The molecular information on genetic diversity revealed in our study may be useful in developing genetic improvement and conservation strategies to better utilize indigenous Sri Lankan chicken resources.     

Genetic variations of mitochondrial antiviral signaling gene (MAVS) in domestic chickens

Mitochondrial antiviral signaling (MAVS) gene plays a key role in antiviral regulation in mammals potentially by activating IRF3/7 and NF-κB and leading to the induction of type I interferon (IFN)-mediated antiviral and inflammatory responses. In this study, we screened genetic polymorphisms of the MAVS gene in various Chinese domestic chicken breeds/populations and evaluated its potential effect on gene expression. Among the sequenced fragment (4678 bp), a total of 75 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified in 46 chickens from 10 breeds/populations, including 30 coding SNPs and 45 non-coding SNPs. Extremely high haplotype diversity (37 nucleotide haplotypes, 18 amino acid haplotypes) was observed in the coding region (CDS), and a similar pattern of high polymorphisms was also observed for the 3′-untranslated region (3′-UTR). Luciferase assays of two representative 3′-UTR haplotypes were performed in both HEK293 cells and DF-1 chicken fibroblast cells, and we found that they were differentially associated with different abilities on regulating mRNA expression level (P < 0.05). Collectively, we observed a considerably high genetic variability of the MAVS gene, and the 3′-UTR variants had an ability to regulate mRNA expression. These results would cast some clues on understanding the potential role of MAVS on viral resistance in chicken.     

Origin of rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) in China: evidence from mitochondrial DNA control region sequence analysis

A fragment of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region (approximately 700 bp) was sequenced in 104 individuals from 20 breeds (three Chinese domestic breeds, five recently derived breeds and 12 introduced breeds) of domestic rabbits, Oryctolagus cuniculus. Nineteen sites were polymorphic, with 18 transitions and one insertion/deletion, and eight haplotypes (A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6, A7 and A8) were identified. Haplotype A1 was the most common and occurred in 89 individuals. In the 25 Chinese rabbits, only haplotype A1 was observed, while four haplotypes (A1, A3, A5 and A6) were found in 26 recently derived individuals. Haplotype A2 was shared by seven individuals among three introduced strains. The other six haplotypes accounted for 0.96-1.92% of the animals. Combined with the published sequences of European rabbits, a reduced median-joining network was constructed. The Chinese rabbit mtDNAs were scattered into two clusters of European rabbits. These results suggest that the (so-called) Chinese rabbits were introduced from Europe. Genetic diversity in Chinese rabbits was very low.     

Genetic diversity of Guangxi chicken breeds assessed with microsatellites and the mitochondrial DNA D-loop region

The domestic chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) is an excellent model for genetic studies of phenotypic diversity. The Guangxi Region of China possesses several native chicken breeds displaying a broad range of phenotypes well adapted to the extreme hot-and-wet environments in the region. We thus evaluated the genetic diversity and relationships among six native chicken populations of the Guangxi region and also evaluated two commercial breeds (Arbor Acres and Roman chickens). We analyzed the sequences of the D-loop region of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and 18 microsatellite loci of 280 blood samples from six Guangxi native chicken breeds and from Arbor Acres and Roman chickens, and used the neighbor-joining method to construct the phylogenetic tree of these eight breeds. Our results showed that the genetic diversity of Guangxi native breeds was relatively rich. The phylogenetic tree using the unweighed pair-group method with arithmetic means (UPGAM) on microsatellite marks revealed two main clusters. Arbor Acres chicken and Roman chicken were in one cluster, while the Guangxi breeds were in the other cluster. Moreover, the UPGAM tree of Guangxi native breeds based on microsatellite loci was more consistent with the genesis, breeding history, differentiation and location than the mtDNA D-loop region. STRUCTURE analysis further confirmed the genetic structure of Guangxi native breeds in the Neighbor-Net dendrogram. The nomenclature of mtDNA sequence polymorphisms suggests that the Guangxi native chickens are distributed across four clades, but most of them are clustered in two main clades (B and E), with the other haplotypes within the clades A and C. The Guangxi native breeds revealed abundant genetic diversity not only on microsatellite loci but also on mtDNA D-loop region, and contained multiple maternal lineages, including one from China and another from Europe or the Middle East.     

Global diversity and genetic contributions of chicken populations from African,Asian and European regions

Genetic diversity and population structure of 113 chicken populations from Africa, Asia and Europe were studied using 29 microsatellite markers. Among these, three populations of wild chickens and nine commercial purebreds were used as reference populations for comparison. Compared to commercial lines and chickens sampled from the European region, high mean numbers of alleles and a high degree of heterozygosity were found in Asian and African chickens as well as in Red Junglefowl. Population differentiation (F_ST) was higher among European breeds and commercial lines than among African, Asian and Red Junglefowl populations. Neighbour‐Net genetic clustering and structure analysis revealed two main groups of Asian and north‐west European breeds, whereas African populations overlap with other breeds from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean region. Broilers and brown egg layers were situated between the Asian and north‐west European clusters. structure analysis confirmed a lower degree of population stratification in African and Asian chickens than in European breeds. High genetic differentiation and low genetic contributions to global diversity have been observed for single European breeds. Populations with low genetic variability have also shown a low genetic contribution to a core set of diversity in attaining maximum genetic variation present from the total populations. This may indicate that conservation measures in Europe should pay special attention to preserving as many single chicken breeds as possible to maintain maximum genetic diversity given that higher genetic variations come from differentiation between breeds.