DNA Fingerprinting Analysis of Native and Red Jungle Fowls in Fiji and Western Samoa

In the present study, genomic DNA was prepared from dried chicken blood sample and subsequently used for analyzing DNA fingerprinting (DFP) of native and Red jungle fowl in the South Pacific Islands. These chicken genomic DNAs were sufficient in quantity and purity for multiple DFP analyses, and chicken blood could be stored for up to 3 months without physical degradation under dry condition.The DFP analyses were carried out by individual and population DFP. Similarities of DFP patterns and genetic distances among fowls in Fiji and Western Samoa were estimated using band sharing (BS) value and the mean number of nucleotide substitutions per nucleotide site, respectively. The results of population DFP were under the influence of data in individual DFP. From the BS values and genetic distances, the native fowls in five different islands of Fiji and Western Samoa could be distinguished in each island, and the difference was consistent with geographical distribution. Fijian and Western Samoan native fowls were found to form two separate groups. The Red jungle fowls in Fiji islands were closely related to each other, but were found to be related remotely to Red jungle fowls in Kagoshima University. Therefore, DFP analysis can be used to estimate relative genetic variability and to reconstruct the evolutionary relationships in small populations genetically isolated.