Genetic characterization of sultan breed chicken populations in Turkey based on mtDNA sequence analysis

As in developing countries, domestic gene resources belonging to farm animals in our country have been replaced by commercial hybrid genotypes of foreign origin with high efficiency. Poultry species were most affected by this genetic erosion in farm animals. Although Turkey has a very rich structure in terms of genetic diversity, the fact that only Denizli and Gerze breeds have been registered as domestic chicken breeds today clearly expresses the extent of genetic erosion experienced in domestic chicken breeds. Although there are local chicken breeds that have successfully adapted to many regions of Turkey, quite a few studies have been conducted so far on the descriptions, morphological and genetic characteristics of these breeds. In order to identify and support the protection of poultry biodiversity in our country, genetic characterization of Sultan chicken breed populations in different locations that have been raised as ornamental chicken in Turkey for many years has been made at the mtDNA level. A total of 30 feather samples were collected for mtDNA isolation from populations in breeder coops in 5 different locations affiliated with the Turkish ornamental chickens and garden animals Federation (TSHF). Mitochondrial D-Loop region and complete mitogenome sequence analyses were performed in isolated mtDNA samples. In D-Loop sequence analysis, 3 haplotypes, haplotype diversity and nucleotide diversity representing 5 polymorphic regions were found to be 0.557 and 0.00113 in 30 individuals of the Sultan chicken breed. In the analysis, 32 haplotypes were identified, representing 46 polymorphic regions in 141 individuals, which included chicken breeds morphologically like the Sultan breed and native breeds. In the network analysis, the Sultan chicken race took part in the Denizli and Gerze breeds, which are our other local chicken breeds, and the E haplogroup. The phylogenetic analysis carried out prove the history of the Sultan breed in our country, and the project results are expected to contribute to the breed registration process of the Sultan chicken.