Cytogenetic profiling and mitochondrial DNA analysis reveal existence of swampbuffalo population in Manipur state

Abstract

India is the home of best milch buffalo breeds in the world. Majority of them are riverine type found in almost the entire country extending from north to south and west. However buffalo populations in the eastern and north-eastern region are yet to be precisely classified, though these have been generally considered to be swamp type based on their phenotypic resemblance to swamp type buffaloes. Manipuri buffaloes, essentially reared for draught and meat purposes have been characterized phenotypically and cytogenetically in this study. Morphometric data collected from 56 adult buffaloes from hilly and plain areas revealed differences in their body measurements. Cytogenetic analysis of 40 randomly selected animals (7 males and 33 females) from both the locations revealed diploid chromosome count of 48, twentythree pairs of autosomes and a pair of sex chromosomes, typical of swamp type buffaloes. Most distinctive karyotypic feature of swamp buffalo observed in all the animals was the size of the fourth pair of metacentric chromosome. Comparison of mitochondrial D-loop sequence of these buffaloes with representative riverine and swamp type buffaloes further corroborated this conclusion. This report, thus, is the first confirmed documentation of existence of pure swamp type buffaloes in Manipur state.