PRIMARITY INDEX AND GENETIC DIFFERENTIATI ON OF ALGERIAN GOAT POPULATIONS OF ARABIA (STEPPE) AND MEKATIA (DESERT)

The degree of belonging to the primary population category (a within-s pecies taxonomic category between wild population and standardized bre ed, formerly called traditional population) of the 2 Algerian goat pop ulations or breeds Arabia (steppe) and Mekatia (oases of the desert) i s calculated by the use of 2 recently introduced indices: the index of primarity loci in segregation (IPs) and the index of primarity Agouti locus (IPa). These indices consider 11 visible genetic loci: Agouti ( A), Brown (B), Frosting (Fr), Roan (Rn), Beard (Ed), Ear Length (EL), Ear Carriage (EC), Ear Curling (ECr), Horns (Ho), Hair Length (HL) and Wattles (Wa). The results obtained show the primarity of the Arabia g oat (IPs = 1 and IPa = 1) and the primarity of the Mekatia goat (IPs = 1). The degree of genetic diferentiation between, these goat populati ons is estimated on the basis of the visible genetic profiles of 9 loc i (A, B, Fr, Rn, Bd, EL, Ho, HL, Wa) using Wright's fixation index FST . The results show the pourer of discrimination. of the loci HL (FST(i ) = 0.2281), Bd (FST(i) = 0.1366), Ho (FST(i) = 0.0124), Fr (FST(i) = 0.0114) and A (FST(i) = 0.011) It is concluded that pramarity and mode rate global genetic differentiation, (FST = 0.076) characterize the Al gerian goat populations Arabia and Mekatia.