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Not AvailableIndia is the sixth largest reservoir of camel geneic resources consisting mainly of single humped Arabian camel (Camelus dromedarius). The population of camel in the country is 0.632 m (FAOSTATdata2005, Livestock Census 2003). India has 4 main breeds, viz. Bikaneri, laisalmeri, Kachchhi and Mewari. Bikaneri camels are predominantly bred in Bikaner and nearby districts of Rajasthan. Bikaneri camels are heavily built with attractive look and are well known for draught potential and endurance. There exists significant effect of breed on the production of hair, milk, draught potential, speed and stride. However, no significant differences could be detected by cytogenetic and biochemical studies. Earlier study using PCR-RAPD revealed high genetic similarity among indigenous camel breeds (Mehta et al. 2003). The microsatellite markers are now considered as the most powerful genetic markers for characterisation of plant and animal genetic resources (Goldstein and Pollock 1997). The technique has been used to study the genetic diversity among Kenyan populations by Mburu et al.(2003) and for molecular characterisation of Jaisalmeri breed by Gautam et al.(2004). Therefore, this study was planned to investigate the genetic variation in the Bikaneri breed of camel using microstellite markers. The blood samples were collected from unrelated camels ofBikaneri breed maintained at the National Research Center on Camel, Bikaner, and the breeding tract of the breed.Not Availabl