GENETIC-ANALYSIS OF THE CHILOTE HORSE FRO M THE ISLAND OF CHILOE - CHILE

The Chilote is a horse breed which is isolated on the Island of Chiloe , off the coast of Chile. A total of 58 Chilote horses were geneticall y typed at 17 different loci; 7 of them belonged to blood group loci a nd were detected by standard hemagglutination and complement mediated hemolysis. The other 10 belonged to biochemical polymorphism detected by polyacrylamide and starch gel electrophoresis. Levels of genetic va riability, estimated by measures of effective numbers of alleles and h eterozygosity, were slightly above the mean of domestic horse breeds. There was no evidence of inbreeding and observed heterozygosity was gr eater than expected heterozygosity at 7 of 10 variable biochemical loc i. Genetic markers present in the Chilote, suggest its relationship wi th horses from the Iberian Peninsula. Highest genetic similarity was w ith Andalusian and Peruvian Paso Breeds. Genetic variability would see m to indicate that this breed is in no immediate danger. However, the small size of the population indicates that the efforts for conservati on in this special and unique type of pony should begin soon.