Evaluation of microsatellite genotyping based individual assignment in five Indian horse breeds

Abstract

The microsatellite genotyping based breed allocation of horses was evalulated with a set of 25 microsatellite loci in 5 Indian horse breeds, viz. Marwari, Spiti, Bhutia, Manipuri and Zanskari, and Thoroughtbred horses outgroup. The total number of alleles in these loci across all the studied breeds vaned from 5 to ~ 2 wIth a mean heterozygosity f 0 5+0 05 The assignment precision for breed allocation of individual horses with phylogenetic approach in Indian breeds was 80.9% compared to 100% allocation of thoroughbreds. Similar trends. were reflected with both frequency and Bayesian methods following likelihood approach for breed assignment of Individuals, Showing only about 84.6 and 86.5% correct allocations in Indian breeds, respectively. These. results suggested that the utility of microsatellite markers for breed allocation in Indian horses needs further authentlcatlon before they can be practically used for such purposes.