A gene bank's collection of genetic diversity among minor chicken breeds

Genetic differences among heritage or fancier breeds of chickens have not been quantified in the United States. Gene banks collecting germplasm for conserving these breeds need this information as do breeders and companies raising them. Our goal was to evaluate genetic diversity of 10 heritage/fancier chicken breeds that are a component of the national collection and to use this information to establish a baseline of their genetic diversity and future conservation efforts. Breeds could be broadly classified as European, Asian, Mediterranean, and United States (US) in origin. The US breeds were composite breeds developed between the 1849 and 1935. Animals (n = 24–31 per breed) were sampled for DNA analysis from 2 or 3 hatcheries per breed and a total of 8 hatcheries. The hatcheries were assumed to maintain and breed their own populations of the studied breeds. Effective population sizes ranged from 47 to 145 and used to estimate probabilities of extinction for a 50-generation timeline. It was determined that Crevecoeur and Aseel had a probability of extinction that exceeded 40%, the remaining 8 breeds had probabilities of <28%. ADMIXTURE analysis indicated the minimal CV corresponded to 9 populations. In that analysis New Hampshire and Rhode Island Red were classified as the same population, which was not unusual given that New Hampshire was developed as a subpopulation of Rhode Island Red. Crevecoeur and Buttercup were the 2 most genetically divergent breeds based on pairwise F(st) among the breeds and principal component analysis, which was supported by the ADMIXTURE results. Inbreeding coefficients computed from genomic information was lowest for Crevecoeur, Rhode Island Red, Buttercup, and Andalusian (0.8–2.6%), while New Hampshire, Buckeye, and Aseel were highest (12.8–14.3%). Within breed F(st) among hatcheries supplying animals for sampling generally indicated a genetic structure was present on a breed-by-breed basis. Genetic relationships within hatchery were also computed for each breed. Several of the hatcheries had sent samples that suggested genetic relationships as high as half-sibs while several others had genetic relationships closer to first cousins. We conclude that the chicken breeds evaluated have substantial genetic variability within the in situ populations and the gene bank has captured this diversity for future use.