Department of Animal Science, M. J. P. Rohilkhand University, Bareilly (UP). E mail: taran_gupta@yahoo.co.in
Genetic distance between the third generations of divergent white-Leghorn chicken lines based on humoral response to sheep erythrocyte was estimated by RAPD-PCR technique using 23 random primers. Genomic DNA samples were isolated from 70 birds comprising 35 each of high (HSRBC) and low (LSRBC) lines. The molecular sizes of the amplicon ranged from 255–2900 bp. Both, within line as well as between line band sharing frequencies (BSF) were estimated, which ranged from 0.40 to 1.00 in HSRBC line and 0.45 to 0.94 in LSRBC line, with different primers, whereas the between line BSF ranged from 0.52 to 0.90. The genetic distance (pooled over lines) was noted to 0.07 ± 0.00 between the HSRBC and LSRBC lines of IWG genotype and overall genetic identity index of pooled data was estimated to 0.74 and ranged from 0.316 to 0.994. Divergent selection for humoral immune response created genetic distance, although low. Study demonstrates effectiveness of the approach to develop suitable germplasm for identifying genetic mechanism behind high or low generalized humoral immune response of birds.
