Genetic Variability Analysis of Duck-PRL Exon 5 in Kuttanad Ducks of Environmentally Challenged Breeding Tracts

Kuttanad ducks are native ducks reared for eggs and meat in Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Kottayam and Pathanamthitta districts of Kerala. The calamities of duck influenza outbreaks and severe floods in these regions had wiped off lakhs of elite duck clusters, deranged the ecosystem of their breeding tract...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inEnvironment and ecology Vol. 39; no. 2; p. 309
Main Authors Abraham, Bindya Liz, Melepat, Priya
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Kalyani MKK Publications 01.04.2021
Subjects
Aquatic birds
Biodiversity
Breeding
Clusters
Conformation
Deoxyribonucleic acid
DNA
Ducks
Egg production
Eggs
Floods
Genetic analysis
Genetic diversity
Genetic variability
Germplasm
Influenza
Loci
Meat
Outbreeding
Polymorphism
Population studies
Prolactin
Waterfowl
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Summary:Kuttanad ducks are native ducks reared for eggs and meat in Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Kottayam and Pathanamthitta districts of Kerala. The calamities of duck influenza outbreaks and severe floods in these regions had wiped off lakhs of elite duck clusters, deranged the ecosystem of their breeding tract and aggravated the decline of duck germplasm in the State. In this context, the present study was undertaken to analyze the performance of Kuttanad ducks along with their genetic variability status with respect to a major candidate gene, prolactin (duck-PRL) in the flood-hit populations. The study revealed an optimum growth and egg production performance indicating their resilience as a native variety to climatic adversities. PCR amplification, Single Strand Conformation Polymorphism analysis and sequencing of the 204 base pair duck-PRL exon 5 locus of 160 genomic DNA samples revealed the gene fragment to be monomorphic and highly conserved suggesting a low or negligible genetic variation in the flood-hit duck clusters. The considerable loss of genetic variability at the duck-PRL exon 5 locus is indicative of the severe decline in duck biodiversity that has emerged out of the limited outbreeding of the ducks under severe loss and fragmentation of the breeding tract following the devastating floods.
ISSN:0970-0420