A Genetic Evaluation System for New Zealand White Rabbit Germplasm Resources Based on SSR Markers

SIMPLE SUMMARY: The New Zealand white rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) is one of the most important breeds of commercial and experimental rabbits in the world, and also one of the most raised rabbit breeds in China. Our goal was to develop a suite of microsatellite markers to aid future conservation genetics research for the Oryctolagus cuniculus breeds. Based on the genetic diversity of 130 New Zealand white rabbits, we obtained a set combination of 22 markers. Then, we performed a genetic analysis of 200 New Zealand white rabbits corresponding to two generations with this combination. It can be used to evaluate the breed conservation of rabbit germplasm resources. ABSTRACT: At present, there is an abundance of quality domestic rabbit breeds in China. However, due to the lack of technical standards for the genetic evaluation of rabbit germplasm resources, there have been a number of problems, such as poor breed conservation. By studying the genetic diversity of 130 New Zealand white rabbits (regardless of generation), we obtained the best simple sequence repeat (SSR) marker combination. We found that, when using microsatellite markers for the effective genetic evaluation of domestic rabbits, the number of records should be greater than 60 and the marker number more than 22. Through the comparative analysis of 30 combinations of 22 markers, the optimal combination of 22 markers was determined, and the 22 SSR polymorphic loci were distributed on different chromosomes. We performed a genetic analysis of 200 New Zealand white rabbits corresponding to two generations, using the best SSR polymorphic loci combination. There were no significant differences in the genetic diversity parameters between the two generations of rabbits (p > 0.05), indicating that the characteristics of this excellent rabbit germplasm have been effectively preserved. At the same time, we verified that the established method can be used to evaluate the breed conservation of rabbit germplasm resources.