Genetic relationships of indigenous goats reared by pastoralists in Kenya based on mitochondria D-loop sequence

Kenya indigenous goat breeds (Capra hircus) have not been accurately described. Therefore, there is threat of erosion of unique genotypes such as those associated with adaptability and disease resistance, through indiscriminate crossbreeding. The Kenyan goats classification based on phenotype/morphology identifies three breeds: Small East African (SEA) goats, the Galla goat and crosses of SEA and the Galla. In the present study, we sampled goats from two main geographic regions of Kenya with pastoralist communities, the Maasai and Somali/Boran. DNA was extracted from whole blood and polymerase chain reaction amplified using primers flanking a fragment of Cytocrome-b and D-loop regions of mitochondria DNA. The sequences derived were analysed both within Kenya goat populations and also compared with phylogeographic-related datasets. These data show that the majority of Kenyan indigenous goats are not distinct and their genetic structure is very diverse; however, distinct haplogroups were present. Genetic diversity showed weak positive in Tajima D test for Kenyan indigenous goats, while the Iberian/Mediterranean/Middle-East dataset had a more pronounced negative value indicating that the two populations are under different selection pressure. These analyses enabled phylogenetic relationships between and within species and the comparisons of local goats to related breeds geographically. The information can be applied management of conservation-guided breeding programmes by crossing the indigenous breed's unique genes with high productivity traits from another source. Les races caprines (Capra hircus) indigènes du Kenya n'ont pas été décrites avec précision. Ainsi, il existe une menace d’érosion de génotypes uniques, tels que ceux en rapport avec l'adaptabilité et la résistance aux maladies, du fait des croisements incontrôlés. Le classement des caprins kényans selon le phénotype/morphologie identifie trois races: Naine d'Afrique Orientale (NAO), Galla et les croisements entre NAO et Galla. Dans cette étude, les populations caprines de deux des principales régions géographiques du Kenya présentant des communautés pastorales (les Maasaï et les Somalis/Boran) ont été échantillonnées. De l'ADN a été extrait du sang et amplifié par PCR avec des amorces encadrant un fragment du Cytochrome b et les régions des boucles D de l'ADN mitochondrial. Les séquences obtenues ont été analysées au sein des populations caprines du Kenya, ainsi que comparées avec des ensembles de