COMPARISON OF PROTEIN MARKERS AND MICROSATELLITES IN DIFFERENTIATION OF CATTLE POPULATIONS

Five cattle populations, representing four breeds, were analysed for 1 4 protein markers and five microsatellite loci. The breeds studied wer e Brown Swiss and three autochthonous Spanish cattle: Avilena-Negra Ib erica (A-NI), two populations (A-NI 1 and A-NI 2) from different, repr oductively isolated, locations; Sayaguesa; and Morucha. A total of 752 animals were examined for biochemical polymorphisms, of which 488 wer e also DNA typed. Genetic parameters and phylogenetic trees were obtai ned separately for each group of markers and results were compared. Es timates of heterozygosity and genetic distances from microsatellites w ere greater than those obtained using protein markers. The overall top ology of the two dendrograms was similar. A-NI 1 and ANI 2 populations were grouped together, related to Morucha, and the three of them rela ted to Sayaguesa. Brown Swiss appeared in a separate branch from Spani sh cattle. These results support the usefulness of microsatellites in the study of genetic relationships among closely related populations a nd breeds.