Malays. Appl. Biol. (2017) 46(2): 129-134
GENETIC DIVERSITY OF COMMERCIAL CHICKENS
CONSUMED IN SELANGOR, MALAYSIA
NUR BINTI OMAR MACHA1,2,3*, ROBYN FAY WILSON1,3,4, TEH SER-HUY5,
URSZULA KRZEMINSKA1,4, SHARIFAH SYED HASSAN2,4, SONG BENG KAH1,4
and SADEQUR RAHMAN1,3,4
1School of Science, Monash University Malaysia, Bandar Sunway
2School of Medicine, Monash University Malaysia, Bandar Sunway
3Halal Ecosystems Platform, Monash University Malaysia, Bandar Sunway
4Genomics Facility, Tropical Medicine and Biology Platform,
Monash University Malaysia, Bandar Sunway
5Centre for Research in Biotechnology for Agriculture (CEBAR),
University of Malaya, Petaling Jaya, Kuala Lumpur
*Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Accepted 12 May 2017, Published online 27 June 2017
ABSTRACT
Chickens represent the most widely consumed meat in the world. Modern breeds are generally from a narrow genetic base. The genetic diversity of chickens consumed in urban areas of Malaysia has not been previously investigated. The aim of this study was to investigate the genetic diversity of chickens available for purchase in urban areas of Selangor adjacent to Kuala
Lumpur. DNA of chickens were isolated from meats and livers. Seven microsatellite markers were selected and fluorescently labeled to allow the identification of each individual chicken from the seventeen populations based on the amplification of target DNA. A total of 52 different alleles was observed for the seven markers, giving a mean of 7.1 alleles per marker. The
cumulative power of discrimination (CPd) of the seven microsatellites used was 0.999 based upon our population study. The data showed that most of the chickens consumed in the urban areas came from a very narrow genetic base. The supply is thus vulnerable to disruption caused by outbreaks of disease. Furthermore the data obtained illustrates the potential of this system to be used in chicken lineage identification. This would help to resolve uncertainties over the origin of the chickens. This system could be used for product assurance as well as safety.
Key words: Simple Tandem Repeats (STR), Halal assurance, Genotyping, Microsatellite, Individual identification
