EVALUATION OF THE GENETIC-VARIABILITY OF 23 BOVINE MICROSATELLITE MARKERS IN 4 BELGIAN CATTLE BREEDS

The polymorphism of 23 microsatellites in the four main cattle breeds in Belgium (Holstein Friesian, Belgian Blue, Belgian Red Pied and East Flemish) was analysed. Heterozygosity, polymorphism information conte nt, the effective number of alleles, exclusion probability and the pro bability of genotypic identity for two random individuals were calcula ted for all microsatellites and all breeds. The Belgian Blue breed is generally a little less polymorphic in comparison with the other three breeds, Estimates of the genetic distances between these breeds confi rmed the widely accepted proposition that the Belgian Blue is the most genetically distinct of these breeds. The three other breeds are like ly to become one population, given current breeding strategies. Exclus ion probabilities in parentage control cases are >0.9999 in all four b reeds when all 23 microsatellites are used and >0.98 with only the two most polymorphic multiplexes.