SUMMARY

Allele diversity, genetic variability and population structure in two subpopulations of Baluchi sheep were estimated using seven microsatellite markers. A total of 503 individuals from two subpopulations were genotyped. Average number of alleles per locus for all loci was 5.57. The range of alleles per locus was from 4 in BM1853 and BMS1714 loci to 7 in MCM200 and RM0006 loci. The seven tested loci were all polymorphic in both subpopulations. The average observed heterozygosity over all the loci in each subpopulation was less than the expected heterozygosity. Test of genotype frequency deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) at each locus, over all the population, revealed a significant departure from HWE. A slightly low rate of inbreeding within the two subpopulations was noticed ( isF = 0.003). Low genetic differentiation was detected based on the estimated stF index between the two subpopulations. The genetic structure (AMOVA) analysis showed that about 2.4 % of the total genetic variation was explained by population differences and 97.6 percent was corresponded to differences among individuals. The mean of polymorphism information content (PIC) value for all loci in Baluchi population was 0.65. In addition, the analysis of segregation in the populations showed that 85 % of the individuals were informative, indicating the relatively high polymorphism in selected marker in Baluchi sheep