Use of RAPD-PCR for genetic analyses on the native cattle breeds in Turkey

Summary: The purpose of this study was to identify the genetic relationship and variations within and between local cattle breeds of Turkey using RAPD-PCR method which needs fewer substructures when compared to other DNA fingerprinting methods. The RAPD-PCR method was performed on blood samples of 77 animals from four breeds namely Anatolian Black (AB), East Anatolian Red (EAR), South Anatolian Red (SAR) and Turkish Grey Steppe (TG). A set of ten arbitrary 10-mer primers were used to detect the DNA polymorphisms in the whole genome. Estimation of the genetic distances between the breeds was conducted through the FST Distant Estimation Method, and cluster trees were constructed by UPGMA Method. Based on the band sharing method, the average genetic variances of the breeds varied from 0.637 (in TG) to 0.809 (in SAR), AB and EAR had 0.792 and 0.787, respectively. It was concluded that AB breed is more closely related to EAR breed than to SAR breed while TG breed was determined as a distinct group from other breeds.