Genetic characterization of Tunisian donkey with DNA microsatellites

The genetic characterization of Tunisian donkeys with microsatellite markers led to the identification of a total of 214 alleles, with an average of 14.27 alleles per locus. The number of effective alleles per locus (N-e) indicates a rich genetic polymorphism for the used markers. The number of alleles per locus (N-a) is higher than Ne, confirming the high genetic diversity in the investigated population. Observed heterozygosis(H-o) for all the studied loci inthe entire population equals 0.744. The FIS index was significantly different from zero, pointing toan excess of heterozygotes. The mean of the number of effective migrants exchanged per generation (Nm) was 3.05 indicating a high level of gene exchange. Genetic distances and the principal coordinate analysis showed three distinct population groups/breeds, with a commongenetic structure for all the individuals. This genetic characterization of the Tunisian donkey population constitutes a valuable basis for further investigations, and to the elaboration of adequate conservation strategies.