VOLUME 14 NUMBER 2 (July to December 2021)

Aivhie Jhoy DS. Escuadro* and Lilian P. Villamor

Animal Genetic Resources Section, Cryobank Unit,
     Philippine Carabao Center, National Headquarters and Genepool,
     Science City of Munoz, Nueva Ecija, 3120, Philippines

The genetic characterization of the Philippine carabao (PC) (Bubalus bubalis) swamp buffalo population contributes a significant role in determining the genetic variation and population differentiation for strategic conservation management. This study was undertaken to evaluate the 30 FAO microsatellite loci for the allele frequencies, polymorphism, and potential forensic efficacy for recommending a set of marker panel for genetic diversity and parentage testing of Philippine Carabao. A total of 277 alleles were observed in 488 unrelated individuals from the PC population. The mean number of alleles per locus was 9.2, ranged from 19 (DRB3) to 1 (HMHIR, ILSTS008, and RM099), while the PIC generated a mean value of 0.547 ranging from 0.083 (CSSM045) to 0.811 (DRB3). Furthermore, the exact test conducted for HWE revealed that most markers had significantly deviated from the equilibrium (P<0.05). Twenty-seven STR markers are highly and reasonably informative loci, which are suitable DNA markers in determining the genetic variation of the Philippines swamp populations. Moreover, three loci showed potential use in forensic studies with 73.8% combined power of exclusion and 99.5% combined discriminatory power to distinguish samples from different individuals. Thus, this study provided baseline information on the applicability of FAO microsatellite markers to determine the genetic diversity and potential forensic efficacy in the Philippine swamp buffalo populations.