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Genetic characterization of commercial goat populations in South Africa

A genetic study of four commercial goat breeds in South Africa was performed using microsatellite markers. The commercial breeds included the Boer goat, Savanna, Kalahari Red and the Angora goat. Indigenous goat populations from Delftzijl and Groblersdal were also included in this study. Seventeen microsatellite markers were tested to determine the genetic variation. Genetic variation within the breeds were relatively high with heterozygosity values ranging from 57% for the Boer goat, 68% for the Kalahari Red, 69% for the Savanna goats and 70% for the Angora goats. First values indicated that the Savanna and Boer goat are genetically the closest (0.114), while the Kalahari Red and Boer goat are the least related (0.237). Phenotypic measurements included height, length, depth, heart girth, pelvic length and width for a phenotypic description. Significant differences were observed in the phenotypic measurements among all the breeds. The genetic and phenotypic differences indicate that these goats can be distinguished as different breeds. Results of this study contribute genotypic information of the commercial goats in South Africa. Copyright / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Animal and Wildlife Sciences / unrestricted

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:up/oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/26788
Date29 July 2008
CreatorsPieters, Anelle
ContributorsVan Marle-Koster, Este, anellepieters@webmail.co.za, Kotze, A.
PublisherUniversity of Pretoria
Source SetsSouth African National ETD Portal
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeDissertation
Rights© 2007, University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria.

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