Inbreeding in Japanese Quail Estimated by Pedigree and Microsatellite Analyses

Accurately estimating inbreeding is important because in-breeding reduces fitness and production traits in populations. We analyzed information from pedigrees and from microsa-tellite markers to estimate inbreeding in a line of Japanese quail derived from a randombred line (QO) and maintained for 17 generations by pedigreed matings of brothers to groups of sisters. Pedigree data were used to calculate the inbreeding coefficient (FIT), which is the level of inbreeding based on a reference ancestor. Data from analysis of 14 micro-satellite markers in the inbred and QO lines were used to cal-culate the population differentiation (FST) of the lines caused by inbreeding. The FIT was then calculated as FIT5 FIS þ (1 FIS) FST, where FIS is the level of inbreeding in the inbred line. Observed heterozygosity from analysis of the microsatellite markers of the QO and inbred lines was 0.43 and 0.21, re