Genetic variability of Indian yaks using random amplified polymorphic DNA markers

Abstract

Indian yaks are categorized into common yaks, bisonian yaks and bareback yaks. Genetic similarities and divergence among them was analyzed by random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) technique using ten decamer oligonuclotide primers. Only five primers (ILO 526, OPAV 15, ILO 1127, ILO 1065 and ILO 876) out of the ten primers tried produced consistant polymorphic fingerprints. Of the 76 fingerprints produced, 49 were present in all types, 21 were individual specific and 6 were polymorphic for different types. The pair wise comparison studied for different primers indicated the average bands sharing ranged from 78% in bareback to 88% in common type. There was no significant difference (P .0.05%) between the mean average percentage (MAPD) values observed between Indian yaks.

Key words: Yak types, RAPD, DNA fingerprints.