Population structure in Indian sheep ascertained using microsatellite information

This study attempts to provide a comprehensive insight into the prevailing genetic status of Indian sheep breeds using microsatellite markers. Seventeen Indian sheep breeds from 3 agroecological zones were analysed using a panel of 25 microsatellite markers. All of the sheep breeds investigated were genetically diverse, as evident from the high allele (>6) and gene (>0.6) diversity values. The gene diversity values for all breeds ranged from 0.621 to 0.780. The within-population heterozygote deficit (F(IS)) varied from -0.098 to 0.234, reflecting significant levels for 12 of the 17 breeds investigated. The average genetic differentiation between all breeds (F(ST)) was 11.1%, revealing moderate discrimination between the indigenous sheep breeds. The genetic distance and principal component analysis revealed a separation of sheep breeds based on geographical propinquity. The Bayesian clustering approach suggested poor breed differentiation in the north-western arid and semi-arid region when compared to the breeds from the eastern and southern peninsular regions. The observed results mirror the divergent management strategies in the different agroecological regions, lack of specific selection policies, and intermixing of breeds in close proximity. Immediate steps to curb the intermixing and erosion of breed purity for some of these breeds need to be implemented, for example, by introducing measures like making proven rams available and ensuring their frequent exchange between flocks. The data generated here provides valuable information about the genetic structure of the 17 Indian sheep breeds and this can be used for designating priorities for their conservation.     

Microsatellite analysis of genetic population structure of zebu cattle (Bos indicus) breeds from north-western region of India

The present study aims to understand the existing genetic diversity and structure of six native cattle breeds (Rathi, Tharparkar, Nagori, Mewati, Gir, and Kankrej) adapted to the north-western arid and semi-arid region of India based on microsatellite loci. Various diversity estimates, mean number of alleles (12.84); effective number of alleles (5.02); gene diversity (0.769), and observed heterozygosity (0.667) reflected the existence of substantial within-breed diversity in all the investigated cattle breeds. Mean estimates of F-statistics: F(IT) = 0.144 ± 0.023, F(IS) = 0.071 ± 0.021, and F(ST) = 0.078 ± 0.014 were significantly different from zero (P < 0.05). The interbreed relationships indicated moderate level of breed differentiation between the six cattle breeds with least differentiation between Kankrej-Mewati pair. The phylogeny structuring further supported close grouping of Kankrej and Mewati breeds. Correspondence analysis plotted Rathi, Tharparkar, and Gir individuals into three separate areas of multivariate space; whereas, Kankrej, Mewati, and Nagori cattle showed low breed specific clustering. This reflected the existence of discrete genetic structure for Tharparkar, Rathi, and Gir, the prominent dairy breeds of the region; whereas, admixture was observed for Kankrej, Mewati, and Nagori individuals.     

Genetic diversity of ten Egyptian chicken strains using 29 microsatellite markers

In this study, we assessed the genetic diversity of three Egyptian local chicken strains (Fayoumi, Dandarawi and Sinai) and six synthetic breeds derived from Fayoumi and Sinai by intercrossing with Barren Plymouth Rock, Rhode Island Red or White Cornish. Diversity measures were based on interrogation of 29 microsatellites. We identified three main clusters of chicken populations encompassing selected Fayoumi lines and Doki-4 (cluster-1), native Dandarawi (cluster-2) and Sinai, and all six synthetic breeds (cluster-3). Dandarawi and Fayoumi lines exhibited lower intra-population genetic diversity and allelic privacy than Sinai and synthetic breeds. The global inbreeding (F(IT) ) was 0.11, among-population differentiation (F(ST) ) was 0.07, and within-population differentiation (F(IS) ) was 0.04. The between-population marker-estimated kinship was lower than within-population estimates. The cluster analysis classified the Fayoumi lines, Dandarawi and Gimmizah as clearly separated populations. The other strains were configured in mosaic admixed groups.     

Genomic Diversity in Pig (Sus scrofa) and its Comparison with Human and other Livestock

We have reviewed the current pig (Sus scrofa) genomic diversity within and between sites and compared them with human and other livestock. The current Porcine 60K single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) panel has an average SNP distance in a range of 30 - 40 kb. Most of genetic variation was distributed within populations, and only a small proportion of them existed between populations. The average heterozygosity was lower in pig than in human and other livestock. Genetic inbreeding coefficient (F(IS)), population differentiation (F(ST)), and Nei's genetic distance between populations were much larger in pig than in human and other livestock. Higher average genetic distance existed between European and Asian populations than between European or between Asian populations. Asian breeds harboured much larger variability and higher average heterozygosity than European breeds. The samples of wild boar that have been analyzed displayed more extensive genetic variation than domestic breeds. The average linkage disequilibrium (LD) in improved pig breeds extended to 1 - 3 cM, much larger than that in human (~ 30 kb) and cattle (~ 100 kb), but smaller than that in sheep (~ 10 cM). European breeds showed greater LD that decayed more slowly than Asian breeds. We briefly discuss some processes for maintaining genomic diversity in pig, including migration, introgression, selection, and drift. We conclude that, due to the long time of domestication, the pig possesses lower heterozygosity, higher F(IS), and larger LD compared with human and cattle. This implies that a smaller effective population size and less informative markers are needed in pig for genome wide association studies.     

中国主要家鹅品种的遗传分化研究

利用PCR和DNA测序技术扩增了15个中国家鹅品种线粒体DNA控制区部分序列（1042bp）。研究结果表明：伊犁鹅与14个品种间的核苷酸分歧度最高,为3．805％～4．067％;不同品种内核苷酸多样度表现出较大的差异,为0～0．116％。除伊犁鹅外的14个家鹅品种中,豁眼鹅与其他品种间的核苷酸分歧度为0．211％～0．272％,明显高于其他品种间的0～0．094％。中国家鹅品种的遗传分化格局与地理分布有关,豁眼鹅的分歧时间较早,遗传漂变是导致豁眼鹅遗传分化的主要因素（Nm=0．02～0．54）,基因流则是另外13个家鹅品种间遗传分化不明显的主要因素（Nm=12．0～65．33）．     

Evaluation of factors affecting individual assignment precision using microsatellite data from horse breeds and simulated breed crosses

Assignment tests have been utilized to investigate population classification, measure genetic diversity and to solve forensic questions. Using microsatellite data from 26 loci genotyped in eight horse breeds we examined how population differentiation, number of scored loci, number of scored animals per breed and loci variability affected individual assignment precision applying log likelihood methods. We found that both genetic differentiation and number of scored loci were highly important for recognizing the breed of origin. When comparing two and two breeds, a proportion of 95% of the most differentiated breeds (0.200 < or = FST < or = 0.259) could be identified scoring only three loci, while the corresponding number was six for the least differentiated breeds (0.080 < or = FST < or = 0.139). An identical proportion of simulated breed crosses, differentiated from their parental breeds by FST estimates in the range 0.050-0.069, was identified when scoring 12 loci. This level of source identification was not obtained for the less differentiated breed crosses. The current data further suggested that population sample size and locus variability were not critical for the assignment precision as long as moderately large sample sizes (> or = 20 animals per population) and fairly variable loci were used.     

High genetic divergence in miniature breeds of Japanese native chickens compared to Red Junglefowl, as revealed by microsatellite analysis

A wide diversity of domesticated chicken breeds exist due to artificial selection on the basis of human interests. Miniature variants (bantams) are eminently illustrative of the large changes from ancestral junglefowls. In this report, the genetic characterization of seven Japanese miniature chicken breeds and varieties, together with institute-kept Red Junglefowl, was conducted by means of typing 40 microsatellites located on 21 autosomes. We drew focus to genetic differentiation between the miniature chicken breeds and Red Junglefowl in particular. A total of 305 alleles were identified: 27 of these alleles (8.9%) were unique to the Red Junglefowl with high frequencies (>20%). Significantly high genetic differences ( F _ST) were obtained between Red Junglefowl and all other breeds with a range of 0.3901–0.5128. Individual clustering (constructed from combinations of the proportion of shared alleles and the neighbour-joining method) indicated high genetic divergence among breeds including Red Junglefowl. There were also individual assignments on the basis of the Bayesian and distance-based approaches. The microsatellite differences in the miniature chicken breeds compared to the presumed wild ancestor reflected the phenotypic diversity among them, indicating that each of these miniature chicken breeds is a unique gene pool.     

Evaluation of genetic differentiation in Bos indicus cattle breeds from Marathwada region of India using microsatellite polymorphism

Elucidation of genetic variability and genetic relationship among breeds has direct relevance with the issues of sustainable use of domestic animal genetic resources. In the present study, genetic polymorphism was evaluated using 22 microsatellite loci in unrelated samples of Red Kandhari and Deoni cattle breeds inhabiting the same geographical area of Marathwada region in Maharashtra state (western India). This work was mainly aimed at assessing the current genetic diversity to understand whether the two zebu populations in question are genetically differentiated. A total of 164 alleles were detected with an average of 5.82 and 5.86 alleles per locus (MNA) in Red Kandhari and Deoni breeds, respectively. The estimated mean observed (Ho) and expected (He) heterozygosity were 0.47 and 0.64 in Red Kandhari vs. 0.57 and 0.69 in Deoni cattle, respectively, demonstrating considerable level of genetic variation in both the populations. Mean estimates of F statistics were: F (FIT) = 0.315 +/- 0.035, f(FIS) = 0.231 +/- 0.031, theta(FST) = 0.110 +/- 0.022, with both the breeds exhibiting significant deficit of heterozygotes (FIS = 0.179 in Deoni; 0.278 in Red Kandhari). The multilocus FST values implied that 11.0% of the total genetic variation corresponds to breed and were statistically greater than zero for the two populations, suggesting population division. The evaluation of exact test also indicated that allele frequencies across all the loci differed significantly (P < 0.001) between two zebu breeds, further supporting population differentiation. Different genetic distance measures showed considerable levels of distances between the two cattle breeds (0.318 = Nei's standard DS; 0.250 = Nei's DA; 0.416 = Cavalli-Sforza and Edwards's Dc; 0.164 = Reynold's, and 2.64 = Delta mu square (dmicro)2. Bayesian statistical approach to assign each individual to the population also supported considerable differentiation between the two cattle breeds, possibly reflecting the limited gene flow between the two Marthwada cattle populations. The existence of cohesive breeding structure of both the breeds was further substantiated by allele-sharing distance measures (DAS) among individual animals. The results of this study thus revealed that the two Bos indicus breeds sharing the common breeding tracts are genetically differentiated enough as separate breeds.     

Genetic diversity in German draught horse breeds compared with a group of primitive, riding and wild horses by means of microsatellite DNA markers

We compared the genetic diversity and distance among six German draught horse breeds to wild (Przewalski's Horse), primitive (Icelandic Horse, Sorraia Horse, Exmoor Pony) or riding horse breeds (Hanoverian Warmblood, Arabian) by means of genotypic information from 30 microsatellite loci. The draught horse breeds included the South German Coldblood, Rhenish German Draught Horse, Mecklenburg Coldblood, Saxon Thuringa Coldblood, Black Forest Horse and Schleswig Draught Horse. Despite large differences in population sizes, the average observed heterozygosity (H(o)) differed little among the heavy horse breeds (0.64-0.71), but was considerably lower than in the Hanoverian Warmblood or Icelandic Horse population. The mean number of alleles (N(A)) decreased more markedly with declining population sizes of German draught horse breeds (5.2-6.3) but did not reach the values of Hanoverian Warmblood (N(A) = 6.7). The coefficient of differentiation among the heavy horse breeds showed 11.6% of the diversity between the heavy horse breeds, as opposed to 21.2% between the other horse populations. The differentiation test revealed highly significant genetic differences among all draught horse breeds except the Mecklenburg and Saxon Thuringa Coldbloods. The Schleswig Draught Horse was the most distinct draught horse breed. In conclusion, the study demonstrated a clear distinction among the German draught horse breeds and even among breeds with a very short history of divergence like Rhenish German Draught Horse and its East German subpopulations Mecklenburg and Saxon Thuringa Coldblood.     

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.     

Evaluation of genetic diversity and population structure of west‐central Indian cattle breeds

Evaluations of genetic diversity in domestic livestock populations are necessary to implement region‐specific conservation measures. We determined the genetic diversity and evolutionary relationships among eight geographically and phenotypically diverse cattle breeds indigenous to west‐central India by genotyping these animals for 22 microsatellite loci. A total of 326 alleles were detected, and the expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.614 (Kenkatha) to 0.701 (Dangi). The mean number of alleles among the cattle breeds ranged from 7.182 (Khillar) to 9.409 (Gaolao). There were abundant genetic variations displayed within breeds, and the genetic differentiation was also high between the Indian cattle breeds, which displayed 15.9% of the total genetic differentiation among the different breeds. The genetic differentiation (pairwise F_ST) among the eight Indian breeds varied from 0.0126 for the Kankrej–Malvi pair to 0.2667 for Khillar–Kenkatha pair. The phylogeny, principal components analysis, and structure analysis further supported close grouping of Kankrej, Malvi, Nimari and Gir; Gaolao and Kenkatha, whereas Dangi and Khillar remained at distance from other breeds.     

Genetic diversity and relationship among southern Indian goat breeds based on microsatellite markers

Genetic diversity and relationship among goat breeds of southern India were investigated based on microsatellite markers. All five breeds of south India, namely Attappady, Osmanabadi, Sangamneri, Malabari and Kanniadu, along with Ganjam of eastern India were considered for the investigation. In total, 190 alleles were observed from 288 DNA samples analysed with 25 microsatellite loci across six breeds. The most diverse breed was Kanniadu and the least was Osmanabadi. Gene diversity for each breed ranged from 0.73 in Kanniadu to 0.61 in Osmanabadi. The genetic distance tended to be least (0.22) between Ganjam and Malabari and the widest (0.83) between Kanniadu and Malabari. The genetic differentiation between different pairs of the breeds was significantly different from zero. Majority of the loci in almost all the breeds were heterozygote deficit. The overall F_is value (0.20) was moderate and significantly different from zero. Principal-component analysis showed the clustering of the goat breeds according to their geographical origin. Therefore, the geographical origin of the breeds should be taken into consideration while deciding conservation and improvement options for these breeds.     

Assessing genetic diversity of Vietnamese local chicken breeds using microsatellites

This study aimed to assess genetic diversity within and between nine Vietnamese local chicken breeds and two Chinese breeds included for comparison. Genotyping 29 microsatellites revealed high diversity of both Vietnamese and Chinese breeds. Cluster analysis using the structure software suggested six clusters as the most likely grouping of the 11 breeds studied. These groups encompassed four homogeneous clusters, one formed by the two Chinese breeds and the other three representing a single breed each: the Mekong Delta breed Ac, the South Central Coast breed Choi, and the Red River Delta breed Dong Tao. The six remaining breeds formed two additional admixed clusters.     

Microsatellite Analysis of Genetic Population Structure of Zebu Cattle (Bos indicus) Breeds from North-Western Region of India

The present study aims to understand the existing genetic diversity and structure of six native cattle breeds (Rathi, Tharparkar, Nagori, Mewati, Gir, and Kankrej) adapted to the north-western arid and semi-arid region of India based on microsatellite loci. Various diversity estimates, mean number of alleles (12.84); effective number of alleles (5.02); gene diversity (0.769), and observed heterozygosity (0.667) reflected the existence of substantial within-breed diversity in all the investigated cattle breeds. Mean estimates of F-statistics: F_IT = 0.144 ± 0.023, F_IS = 0.071 ± 0.021, and F_ST = 0.078 ± 0.014 were significantly different from zero (P < 0.05). The interbreed relationships indicated moderate level of breed differentiation between the six cattle breeds with least differentiation between Kankrej-Mewati pair. The phylogeny structuring further supported close grouping of Kankrej and Mewati breeds. Correspondence analysis plotted Rathi, Tharparkar, and Gir individuals into three separate areas of multivariate space; whereas, Kankrej, Mewati, and Nagori cattle showed low breed specific clustering. This reflected the existence of discrete genetic structure for Tharparkar, Rathi, and Gir, the prominent dairy breeds of the region; whereas, admixture was observed for Kankrej, Mewati, and Nagori individuals.     

How do introgression events shape the partitioning of diversity among breeds: a case study in sheep

Background

From domestication to the current pattern of differentiation, domestic species have been influenced by reticulate evolution with multiple events of migration, introgression, and isolation; this has resulted in a very large number of breeds. In order to manage these breeds and their genetic diversity, one must know the current genetic structure of the populations and the relationships among these. This paper presents the results of a genetic diversity analysis on an almost exhaustive sample of the sheep breeds reared in France. Molecular characterization was performed with a set of 21 microsatellite markers on a collection of 49 breeds that include five breed types: meat, hardy meat, dairy, high prolificacy and patrimonial breeds.

Results

Values of expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.48 to 0.76 depending on the breed, with specialized meat breeds exhibiting the lowest values. Neighbor-Net, multidimensional analysis or clustering approaches revealed a clear differentiation of the meat breeds compared to the other breed types. Moreover, the group that clustered meat breeds included all the breeds that originated from the United Kingdom (UK) and those that originated from crossbreeding between UK breeds and French local breeds. We also highlighted old genetic introgression events that were related to the diffusion of Merino rams to improve wool production. As a result of these introgression events, especially that regarding the UK breeds, the breeds that were clustered in the ‘meat type cluster’ exhibited the lowest contribution to total diversity. That means that similar allelic combinations could be observed in different breeds of this group.

Conclusions

The genetic differentiation pattern of the sheep breeds reared in France results from a combination of factors, i.e. geographical origin, historic gene flow, and breed use. The Merino influence is weaker than that of UK breeds, which is consistent with how sheep use changed radically at the end of 19^th century when wool-producing animals (Merino-like) were replaced by meat-producing breeds. These results are highly relevant to monitor and manage the genetic diversity of sheep and can be used to set priorities in conservation programs when needed.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12711-015-0131-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

The genetic structure of domestic rabbits

Understanding the genetic structure of domestic species provides a window into the process of domestication and motivates the design of studies aimed at making links between genotype and phenotype. Rabbits exhibit exceptional phenotypic diversity, are of great commercial value, and serve as important animal models in biomedical research. Here, we provide the first comprehensive survey of nucleotide polymorphism and linkage disequilibrium (LD) within and among rabbit breeds. We resequenced 16 genomic regions in population samples of both wild and domestic rabbits and additional 35 fragments in 150 rabbits representing six commonly used breeds. Patterns of genetic variation suggest a single origin of domestication in wild populations from France, supporting historical records that place rabbit domestication in French monasteries. Levels of nucleotide diversity both within and among breeds were ~0.2%, but only 60% of the diversity present in wild populations from France was captured by domestic rabbits. Despite the recent origin of most breeds, levels of population differentiation were high (F(ST) = 17.9%), but the majority of polymorphisms were shared and thus transferable among breeds. Coalescent simulations suggest that domestication began with a small founding population of less than 1,200 individuals. Taking into account the complex demographic history of domestication with two successive bottlenecks, two loci showed deviations that were consistent with artificial selection, including GPC4, which is known to be associated with growth rates in humans. Levels of diversity were not significantly different between autosomal and X-linked loci, providing no evidence for differential contributions of males and females to the domesticated gene pool. The structure of LD differed substantially within and among breeds. Within breeds, LD extends over large genomic distances. Markers separated by 400 kb typically showed r(2) higher than 0.2, and some LD extended up to 3,200 kb. Much less LD was found among breeds. This advantageous LD structure holds great promise for reducing the interval of association in future mapping studies.     

新疆8个绵羊品种遗传多样性和系统发生关系的微卫星分析

为分析新疆北疆地区主要绵羊品种的遗传多样性和系统发生关系,利用10个微卫星标记,采用PCR扩增,12％非变性聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳、Sanguinetti银染法显色,对新疆北疆地区8个品种、1个杂交一代绵羊群体遗传多样性进行了检测,统计了各群体的等位基因组成、平均有效等位基因数(E)和平均基因纯合率,利用等位基因频率计算出各群体的平均遗传杂合度(h)、多态信息含量(PIC)和群体间的遗传距离。利用分子进化遗传分析软件,采用邻结法构建系统发生树;同时根据等位基因频率,利用PHYLIP(3．6)分析软件,采用最大似然法构建系统发生树,应用白举检验估计系统树中结点的白引导值,并进行了系统发生分析。结果表明：10个微卫星位点在9个绵羊群体中的多态信息含量除BMI824、MAF65为低、中度多态外,其余8个微卫星均为高度多态,可作为有效的遗传标记用于各绵羊品种的遗传多样性和系统发生关系的分析;所有绵羊群体的平均PIC(0．5631)、h(0．5721)和E(2．9)均低于国外其他品种的绵羊,其基因多态性和遗传多样性相对贫乏;新疆本地土种阿勒泰羊、哈萨克羊和巴什拜羊与国外引进绵羊品种及混有外血的本地培育品种遗传距离较远,他们聚为不同的两类,各绵羊品种的分子系统发生关系与其来源、育成史、分化及地理分布基本一致。     

利用线粒体COI基因揭示中国乌骨鸡遗传多样性和群体遗传结构

全面了解中国乌骨鸡的遗传背景有利于保护和开发利用其种质资源。本研究测定了中国12个乌骨鸡品种线粒体细胞色素c氧化酶亚基I (cytochrome c oxidase subunit I, COI)基因, 比较分析其遗传多样性和群体遗传结构。255份乌骨鸡样品共检测到22个变异位点, 占分析位点的3.17%; 核苷酸多样性为0.00142-0.00339, 单倍型多样性为0.380-0.757, 其中略阳乌鸡核苷酸多样性最高, 德化黑鸡最低。检测到7个氨基酸变异位点, 来自6个品种共11个个体。定义了24种单倍型, 其中单倍型H1和H3为12个乌骨鸡品种共享, 出现频率分别为115次和64次; 盐津乌骨鸡单倍型数最多, 广西乌鸡最少。中性检验与错配分析显示实验种群未经历显著的群体扩张事件。分子变异分析显示81.06%的变异来自群体内; 品种间遗传距离为0.002-0.004, 品种间遗传分化系数F_st值为-0.035至0.594, 雪峰乌骨鸡与其他种群间的遗传分化程度最高。邻接树显示, 乌骨鸡未能独立形成分支, 不能从家鸡和红原鸡中有效区分开来。中国乌骨鸡中介网络图将24个单倍型分为3条进化主支, 呈现出一定的品种特异性, 由无量山乌骨鸡、云南盐津乌骨鸡和雪峰乌骨鸡组成单倍型H8、H9、H11、H12游离于这3条进化主支之外。增加其他家鸡和红原鸡COI基因的中介网络图主体结构与中国乌骨鸡的相同。结果表明中国乌骨鸡品种遗传多样性较低, 但品种间遗传分化显著, 可能是从当地家鸡中选育而来, 需要加强种质资源的保护。     

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.