Determination of genetic distance between East Anatolian Red, Brown Swiss, Holstein and Simmental breeds of cattle using polymorphic systems

Abstract

Genetic distances were determined according to Nei, Cavalli-Sforza and Reynolds methods between the Brown Swiss (173), Simmental (80), Holstein (18) and East Anatolian Red (51) cattle breeds using milk protein (as) and blood protein types (Hb and Tf). The distribution of phenotypic frequencies in all the four breeds for all systems except alpha s(1)-Cn was significant (P<0.01) using chi-square test. Phylogenetic trees based on the polymorphic systems of the populations obtained by three different methods of Nei, Cavalli-Sforza and Reynolds were found to be similar. According to the phylogenetic trees Brown Swiss and Simmental cattle breeds fall in one group and dairy (Holstein) and Native (East Anatolian Red) breeds in different groups.