Studies On The Molecular Systematics Of Several Breeds Of Domestic Chinese Goose, Two Breeds Of Domestic European Goose And Some Species Of Wild Geese

Domestic geese are important kinds of poultries which were domesticated from several species of wild geese. Many breeds of domestic geese with different economic traits have been created around the world. There are 12 typic breeds of domestic geese in China which were docmented in Annals of the Breeds of Chinese Poultries . The number of domestic geese abroad is between 20 or 30. So far, the breeds of domestic geese are merely nominated by their exterior features or their native domestication places, their origins are told only in a small number of documents concerned.Mitochondrial DNA restriction fragment length polymorphism (mtDNA RFLP) and random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) were used in this study to assess the genetic variability of the mitochondrial DNAs and the total genomic DNAs in five breeds of domestic Chinese goose (Shitou breed, Wanxi white breed, Taihu breed, Zhedong white breed, Sichuan white breed), two breeds of domestic European goose (Rhin breed, Landaise breed) and two species of wild geese of Anser (swan goose, greylag goose). The maternal origins of these domestic geese were confirmed through their mtDNA RFLP analyses. The genetic distance between the geese mentioned above were estimated and the phylogeny of these species and breeds were discussed based on comparisons of polymorphism of the total genomic DNA. A preliminary RAPD analysis on genetic diversity of the Chinese goose Wanxi white breed was also reported.Single restriction endonuclease digestion were porformed for their mtDNAs using the following eighteen restriction endonucleases: BamHI., BglI, BglII, EcoRI, EcoRV, HindIII, KpnI, MulI, PstI, PvuII, SacI, SacII, SalI, ScaI, SmaI, XbaI and XhoI. The results show: 1. All the endonucleases produce the identical restriction patterns in the five breeds of domestic Chinese goose and swan goose. Because the five breeds we acquired may representing most types of domestic Chinese goose, we may predict that no variation will be detacted in mtDNAs by the above enzymes in all breeds of domestic Chinese goose. This result also confirms in the view of molecular genetics that all breeds of domestic Chinese goose have the same maternal origin, that is domestic Chinese goose was originated from swan...