Inbreeding in Japanese Quail Estimated by Pedigree and Microsatellite Analyses

Accurately estimating inbreeding is important because inbreeding reduces fitness and production traits in populations. We analyzed information from pedigrees and from microsatellite markers to estimate inbreeding in a line of Japanese quail derived from a randombred line (QO) and maintained for 17 generations by pedigreed matings of brothers to groups of sisters. Pedigree data were used to calculate the inbreeding coefficient (FIT), which is the level of inbreeding based on a reference ancestor. Data from analysis of 14 microsatellite markers in the inbred and QO lines were used to calculate the population differentiation (FST) of the lines caused by inbreeding. The FIT was then calculated as FIT = FIS + (1 - FIS) x FST, where FIS is the level of inbreeding in the inbred line. Observed heterozygosity from analysis of the microsatellite markers of the QO and inbred lines was 0.43 and 0.21, respectively, and the number of alleles was 3.29 and 1.93, demonstrating a reduction of genetic diversity in the inbred line. The FIT of the inbred line calculated from the pedigree and microsatellite marker analyses was 0.69 ± 0.07 and 0.57 ± 0.33, respectively. These data suggest that pedigree analysis was more accurate than microsatellite marker analyses for estimating inbreeding in this line of Japanese quail.