Genetic diversity of north-east Asian cattle based on microsatellite data

In order to assess the genetic variability and population structure of north-east Asian cattle, 13 microsatellite loci were analysed for a total of 200 individuals including Korean, Chinese, Japanese Black and European Holstein cattle. Observed and expected heterozygosity, two estimators (F (ST) and G (ST) ) of gene differentiation, and Nei's DA distance were evaluated. Based on expected mean heterozygosity, the lowest genetic diversity was exhibited in Japanese Black cattle (H (E) =0.471), and the highest in Chinese cattle (H (E) =0.744). Korean cattle revealed a relatively high degree of genetic diversity (H (E) =0.728). Average proportion of genetic variation because of interpopulation subdivision among north-east Asian cattle varied between 10.9 and 9.9%, depending on the estimator used. N-J tree based on Nei's DA genetic distance showed that Korean and Chinese cattle are closely related, whereas Japanese Black cattle are clearly distinct from the other two populations, forming a north-east Asian outgroup.